Britain is no country for sick old men in hospital : confirmed

An article in the 'Daily Mail' today was based on a report by the 'Royal College of Nursing' from the findings of a survey of 1,700 nurses, including 240 working on National Health Service hospital wards for older people. It was entitled :

Nurses 'have no time to talk to older patients' because shortage of qualified staff is 'compromising care' on wards

Looked at from the point of view of this old man in a hospital ward we can say :
* 3 out of 4 nurses have no time to talk to you and many are so rushed they can’t help you to eat.
* typically, one nurse is expected to look after you and another 8 old patients, whereas if they worked on an 'adult general ward' it would be 6.7 patients and 4.2 on a children’s ward.
* you may be frail, acutely ill and have complex medical needs but are more likely than other hospital patients to be in the hands of 'healthcare assistants' rather than a qualified nurse.

* RCN Chief Executive Dr Peter Carter says that you are being " let down by systemic failings in our hospitals. It is acceptable that there are not enough nurses on older people’s wards."

* The RCN has said that to provide 'basic, safe care' for you need one registered nurse for you and six other old patients and ideally, one between five and seven of you.



To finish : some good news for all old men in hospital, the Government Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow,  has said:
"The ratio of nurses to beds is already improving. We know from Care Quality Commission inspections that good nurse leadership on the ward is essential to delivering high-quality care.Through the Nursing and Care Quality Forum, we are working with the RCN and others to make sure that more nurse time is freed up for front line care."

The old man in the bed says : "Thanks Paul. That is truly heartening news and thanks to the RCN for pointing out to Paul what a dire situation I am in."

P.S. My earlier posts about hospital care :

Monday, 5 March 2012
Britain is no country for old men in hospital with dementia
http://britainisnocountryforoldmen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/britain-is-no-country-for-old-men-in.html

Wednesday 29 February 2012
Britain is no country for old men in hospital expecting to be treated with dignity and compassion.
http://britainisnocountryforoldmen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/britain-is-country-with-hospitals-which.html 


Tuesday 25 January 2012
Britain, no country for those old men stuck in hospital wards, you have a champion in Professor Ian Philp
http://britainisnocountryforoldmen.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/britain-no-country-for-those-old-men.html

Monday, 31 August 2009 :
Britain's hospital wards - no place for sick, old men
http://britainisnocountryforoldmen.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/britains-hospital-wards-no-place-for.html