Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHS
P Rogers
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Comment on: Nurse specialists at risk once again, warns RCN survey
As the opening commentator on this story, I thought I should respond to some of the subsequent comments even if it’s a little late… Mike (14.04.11; 4:56pm – “I disagree wholeheartedly with many of the comments of the anonymous above me…” but alas you don’t say which ones. Presumably not the one where I said I knew specialist nurses who work incredibly hard and do a fantastic job? Nor the one where I said they are often much better at providing the care that junior or even mid-grade doctors did in the past? So exactly what do you disagree with? Whilst your experience might be different to mine, which is that some specialist nurses either aren’t that good (despite the expensive education and training they’ve enjoyed) or just aren’t there when I’ve needed them, because the cost of having them provide a 24/7 service is too great; surely you weren’t disagreeing with what constitutes my experience? Alternatively maybe you disagreed with my point that when a cost-benefit analysis of the contribution of specialist nurses is offered it has to look at a broad picture not a narrow albeit simpler service specific one? Perhaps you just didn’t like the fact that the experience I relayed implied criticism of something you aspire to be? Phillpeall (15.04.11; 11:53am) “…generally work clinic hours [i.e. Mon –Fri, 9-5] but that is where the routine daily need is.” Whilst I’m not exactly sure what you mean, if you’re saying the clinical demand for specialist nurses is just ‘clinic hours’ then I disagree. Apart from the example I gave of ICU outreach specialist nurses your own example of nurse practitioners particularly those who run minor injuries units (and are some of the few who work round the clock shifts) actually highlights the point nicely. Specialist nurse working patterns are save for odd exception, simply the result of a financial calculation, a calculation few specialists want to argue with because of the desirability of a Mon-Fri 9 to 5 existence. Anonymous (15.04.11; 12:24 pm) “I have a major issue with nurses being called "ordinary" just because they are not "specialists"... your ‘issue’ seems to have obscured the point I was making which was that the explosion of specialist nurse roles diminishes the position of the non-specialist nurse in the eyes of fellow professionals, many patients and the public, and indeed many nurses who now have to refer to specialists about things that previously were well within their own competence the term ‘mere ordinary’ was intended to be ironic, which is always difficult when dealing with the written word. However please give the ‘we’re all special’ bit a rest, we’re clearly not all special, if we were Mid-Staffordshire and the recent health ombudsman report wouldn’t have happened.
