debate on the nhs

I have been listening to , and reading the current debate about the NHS , as an ex nurse and nurse tutor I feel I have some views on the subject which may have value . At the time they were introduced I was against the six bay wards, the six bay bed design does not increase the patients privacy to any extent and as I said at the time this can only really be done by single rooms . The Nightingale wards were more efficient in allowing less staff to supervise more patients as all were visible , and also allowed better supervision of staff .The social aspects of the ward for the patients were also improved as patients would wander down the ward to talk to one another . I have run both types of ward and give me nightingale every time. The writer in the I paper this morning was also decrying the loss of a clear leader and again I unfortunately agree , Some of the old ward sisters were frankly insane ,but they all had one thing in common by virtue of experience and knowledge they were the clinical experts and clinical managers for their wards . The buck stopped with them. In the army where I trained if a patient developed a pressure sore the ward sister had to go to the matron and explain what care deficit had allowed this to happen . Noise was also mentioned .I remember well the creep down the nightingale ward at night every half hour to check the clients being very quiet . For even as Florence Nightingale said an excess of noise is evidence of an absence of care. This is not just an old farts ramblings as I realise things change and the knowledge base of present nurses is much greater than when I trained , as is all to often the severity of the illnesses cared for. But as my students often heard me say "never treat people as things" and "get the basic care right and the rest will follow "
The photo is me in those days , The photograph was taken for an RAMC pamphlet ,at the time I was working in orthopaedics; so actually didn't have the faintest idea what i was supposed to see whilst peering down this guys throat .

Looking at the news today I see the latest celebrity behavioural Nazi is spouting forth again. I refer of course to Jamie Oliver . Who has now seen fit to comment on the nations youth being lazy and having no work ethic . He of course being a "self made man"??? doesn't count the massive amounts of homework that children today have to complete as he obviously doesn't count academic work as work . I am really getting tired of celebrities telling us how hard they work and talking about the work ethic .Most celebrities are pretty self centred and their work ethic means fame or lots of money for them, the same goes for most successful business men . I ran an intensive care unit and worked long and fairly stressful hours for very low wages at the time , to be told by a business acquaintance that public services should have their wages cut as nobody with any ambition would work for such low wages . I am sure I and my students since, work as hard as Mr Oliver has for much less remuneration: so will he get of his soap box and get on with cooking. Which is something I have done since my wife became ill with little training . Admittedly I couldn't charge £50 pounds per setting as some of these celebrity chefs do for ingredients that cost £5 but its not rocket science .Incidentally in a previous career I was a Sargent in the army, after which I ran the unit ,and since then a team of nurse educators, and at no time have I had to resort to language used by another of our celebrity chefs and unlike a chef I couldn't eat my mistakes .
I see the prime minister is strengthening the economy and promoting the "Big Society" This I find quite ironic as a predecessor of his stated that there was no society . I refer of course to Mrs Thatcher. However the dropping (devolvement ) of governmental functions begs the question what is the role of government .I always assumed the role of modern government was to protect all of its citizens Whereas the strong economy that the pm talks about ,seems to be strong enough to ensure the bankers get their bonuses ,but not strong enough to support the poorer members of society (who incidentally were not responsible for wrecking the economy in the first place ). If the citizens are so capable of running themselves it begs the question ,Are Governments of the size we have really necessary , and couldn't bigger savings be made by getting rid of the lords and two thirds of the commons . Or insisting that governments are truly accountable .For example every war is due to an absolute failure of politicians . and ,as in the involvement in Iraq, 70% of the population are against it ,shouldn't some one be accountable? I was for any decisions I made as a nurse .