Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSNurses to 'spend more time on care'
A strategy allowing nurses to spend more time caring for patients has been launched by the NHS in Scotland.
Releasing Time To Care, already being run by eight health boards, aims to see 40% more time dedicated to patients.
The scheme frees up vital hours by improving efficiency in other areas of hospitals, such medicine and equipment storage.
Launching the initiative at a cardiac ward in Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire, Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the programme “put patients at the heart of everything the NHS does” and would “give people a new confidence in the health service”.
Hairmyres Hospital itself has released an extra 8,776 hours for patient care by cutting staff sickness rates by 3.9% and reducing the average length of time patients spend in the ward.
The initiative will be extended across Scotland in the near future, Ms Sturgeon said.
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Readers' comments (5)
Stephen Howard-Brown | 11-May-2010 7:29 pm
To spend more time on basic care, if only is the cry! How many more times must I work with very little support to my patients in the ward! It does not pay to complain in the NHS because all that happens is the complainant gets vilified time and time again!!! So it never improves nothing ever improves, More managers are about and few HCA'S get fewer! You need more HCAs on each ward to help give constant attention to the patients,this does not happen. The Staff Nurses are often busy doing other jobs in the ward and patients need to have people who are there to help them without delay or hindrance. To be seen there in front of the patients so the patients can have access to a staff member at all times instead of waitng to get the attention of the staff either by buzzing call bells or shouting for help. time is a great healer and when the time taken to get help is long then the healing process gets strained and compromised. Hunt and Wainwright in their book on the extended role of the nurse, make the point for the rise of the HCAs on every ward. Stephen Howard-Brown, SRN.
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Ashley Milrine | 13-May-2010 11:25 am
Stephen, I am 110% in agreement with yourself. I am newly qualified, started my job in December. At uni our Facilatators were constantly going on about paperwork and how you should never let that get in the way of patient care, very true but how is it posible when you have lots of it to do and your manager is kicking your backside if it's not done. I'm still writing my notes at the end of my shift because I personally believe I'm not gonna put it in the way of patient care...maybe we should all start doing this lol!!
Then the other problem is Staff shortages, it all comes down to money, we are a few staff members down and there is supposidly going to be another job freeze. However, NHS aren't slow in recruiting a bizillion Infection Control Nurses to come into the ward and criticise the staff for the condition of the stools that we sit on at the nurses station. It really puzzles me..
At work I'm not a complainer but maybe it's the best way to go...you'r right though..will complaining to the NHS change anything?? I think a strike or something is needed....
I read a report by Nicola Sturgeon the other week saying that around 1500 newly qualified nurses are going to be graduating and only 181 jobs will be available...so how does she plan on making more time available for patients?? 'm curious to know...
Sorry about the rant
Ashley
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Sandra Joyce Powell | 14-May-2010 8:58 am
once again i implore the NHS to train nurses not educate them there is a enormous difference between Education and training .Bring back the Nurse qualified in Hands on patient care.
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Anonymous | 14-May-2010 1:48 pm
funny that, didnt alex salmond just annuonce hundreds of nurse and midwife redundancies in scotland yesterday? is he gonna do the patient care himself?
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Anonymous | 20-May-2010 12:15 pm
its ok sayin more HCA's but in the trust i work in as an experienced HCA there is NO difference recognised between NA's and HCA's . It causes me to think just why HCA's work so hard at their job and getting that qualification when an NA can come along and do exactly the same thing????? NOT that i do not think NA's are invaluable they all are worth their weight in gold.
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