Nightingale Hospitals

Good news? Surely sad that its needed .Maybe if people just stuck to the guidelines it would have been under control.
Was there any truth in Hancocks party political broadcast ..supposed covid update ...that nursing numbers are up by a huge amount in England or is it just wishful thinking?

Yes the good news is that Exeter Nightingale was opened today so that will take pressure off the hospitals in the south west.

No make-up.
Nails short and inspected.
Hat on straight and starched.
Shoes polished.
No holes/ladders in stockings.
No stains on uniform.
Stand upright when she did a ward round.

In the old days, there were fever hospitals. Why don’t they use the Nightingales like that. No chance of cross contamination. And, emphatically, yes to using trainee nurses on wards...

Nobody would tolerate working under anyone like that now.

Anyone seen outside the hospital wearing their uniform was up before the matron and she was one woman who you wouldn't want to appear in front of

Goodness, I have to mark the occasion. It must be the first time I have agreed with anything that you have said, quizqueen, but I do agree with you about NHS staff wearing uniforms outside work. Also, I agree with you, B9exchange and Ilovecheese about nursing training. It was, IMO, much more suited to an apprenticeship-type, on-the-job training than to a largely theoretical one. I know you need both, but I think that the university-based bit is too much of the mix now.

Since nursing as been recognised as being of degree standard and most of the learning done off site, the quality of nursing has gone down in my opinion so I agree with B9exchange.

I worked as an auxiliary on a ward during my holidays when I was a college student (1970s) and the nurses did everything then, including wiping bottoms. Also, you had to strip off and leave your uniform in the hospital laundry daily and collect a clean one on your next shift. I hate to see NHS or care staff in the supermarket in their working clothes. It's really a waste of time washing our hands when they are traipsing germs around on their clothes!!

You are so right Ilovecheese, when I trained we went straight onto the wards after six weeks and learned on the wards, which meant staffing levels were much higher due to all the students taking part, and there was no possibility of developing a 'too posh to wash' attitude. And because we were working, we got paid. As Paul Daniels would have said 'not a lot' but it was something, and no debt at the end.

Surely the military medics are needed where they are.

Why can't the military medics staff the Nightingale hospitals? Seems like an obvious solution.

Charging nurses for their training was a very silly decision obviously taken by someone without a basic understanding of supply and demand.

The South West Nightingale is opening today to receive its first coronavirus patients, (being transferred from the main hospitals). Good news!

I did read 40%+ NHS staff were off with Illness (I thi k there is a thread).
Which is worrying.

With that shortage in mind for the future, to fill the gap for nurses and others could be overcome, if university courses were free for the would be low paid NHS workers. Maybe there are more people, who would like to work in health sector but can’t because they have financial constraints. Students know that they don’t have to pay back the fees but they don’t like the thought of debt hanging over their heads for years.. Maybe they should sign a contract to say that they will work x years in the public domain so that training is not lost to the private sector or to other rich countries.

Thank you suziewoozie
Well they can only do the best in the circumstances I suppose.

Namsnanny

Thank you pensionpat and Elkianne
So, if there arnt enough staff to deploy to the Nightigale hospitals, that must mean staff are swapping between wards?
That surely cant be logical?

Hospitals have in place ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ areas of the hospital and staff are placed in ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ teams to minimise the risk of cross infection. Of course it can’t be eliminated but they do their best, they also have better PPE this time round.

Thank you pensionpat and Elkianne
So, if there arnt enough staff to deploy to the Nightigale hospitals, that must mean staff are swapping between wards?
That surely cant be logical?

Our one is being used for diagnostics and some clinic appointments.

It was said that there isn’t the staff to deploy to Nightingale Hospitals.