nurses convicted of sedating elderly patients for a quiet shift!

My DH died in a care home (no room in the local hospice). He was not confused at all, but weakening steadily. He did have good care from the staff; in particular the two Nepali women carers were deft and tender.
But we did make sure that one of us was with him round the clock when he became too weak to speak much. The nurse in charge respected us for that, I think, and made sure his care was as it should have been.

I used to be a nurse and some of the nurses actions were terrible.
I left nursing because of one senior staff nurse,( I was junior) was cruel to a 16 year old girl after an operation.
I reported her to the ward sister but nothing was done.I later found out they were husband swapping,so that may have stopped her taking action.
This was a long time ago,and my dh has been in and out of hospital and has been treated very well, except for one occasion,and action was taken on that.
It seems juniors are listened to a bit more now.

I have never got over the way I was treated at the birth of my first child. He was born naturally, at teatime on a Sunday. I was not allowed to hold him, I could see him in is crib in the corner of the delivery room (as far away from me as it was possible to be) making sucking movments. The next time I saw him was six o'clock the next morning, I had been awake all night. A nurse brought him to me for feeding. Having never breast fed before I was finding it difficult, the nurse came back 20 minutes later, I told her I had problems getting him to feed and her words were "He's not interested in you dear" and took him away. Those words still haunt me and bring me to tears 44 years later.

CCTV cameras in wards (not manned by nurses or health care assistants) would protect patients. After a stroke I was sent for rehabilitation to another hospital which had a ward specifically for the elderly and stroke patients. The health care assistants dined on takeaways every night and seemed to be partying for most of the night. I wish I had just been sent home to recuperate.

It is very variable. There are kind nurses around as well as efficient but not very warm ones.
Patients have complained to me about unkind or very lazy nurses on Nightshift. I've discussed it with my manager but he couldn't say what I could do about patients' complaints to me.

Nurses are like everyone else, some good, some bad, most in the middle. The trouble is you can ensure the appropriate care is given with tick lists, procedures and training, but you cant make someone kind if they are not kind. I see medical procedures carried out to the letter on 'my ward' (volunteer). I see some incredibly kind nurses look after patients as if they were their own relatives. But as in any profession or walk of life there will always be those who put in the minimum effort, who cut corners to save themselves a task, who prefer to chat to their friends and who are plain lazy or unkind. Its also true that some patients are themselves staggeringly rude, demanding and obnoxious to the staff. Of course the staff ideally rise above it, but at the end of the day they are only human. Why did we ever start calling them angels.

Shantygirly

I have never got over the way I was treated at the birth of my first child. He was born naturally, at teatime on a Sunday. I was not allowed to hold him, I could see him in is crib in the corner of the delivery room (as far away from me as it was possible to be) making sucking movments. The next time I saw him was six o'clock the next morning, I had been awake all night. A nurse brought him to me for feeding. Having never breast fed before I was finding it difficult, the nurse came back 20 minutes later, I told her I had problems getting him to feed and her words were "He's not interested in you dear" and took him away. Those words still haunt me and bring me to tears 44 years later.

I can relate to that Shantygirl.
They took DC1 away and I spent all night worrying there was something wrong with her, refused me a drink (no tea, no water) in case I was sick, brought her the next day and the sister held her head and shoved her very roughly on to the breast.
We never did succeed with breastfeeding.
An auxiliary nurse came in and shouted at my mother because she'd picked up a fretful DC1: "Put that baby *down! now"!
Mum thought she must be the sister in charge!
I told her to ignore her.

I did hope things had changed over the years but recent events suggest otherwise.

Having seen it from many angles, I was a cancer patient, had operation and chemo, then did hospital car service 3 days a week for 10 years e, taking patients from home to hospital and therefore also saw many care homes , not on show, but in their ways of working tc etc. Had some really wonderful nursing from many people and one or two that I would not want to be in their wards again, but I would not be browbeaten by their petty attitudes. Rules for safety and medicine etc but I would not be told when to stop reading or to go to sleep etc. If I was unable to sleep I chose to read, making sure my light did not disturb others. I did not wish to lie in the dark in pain and just think! So you do see all sorts of things. Whilst my hair is now white and I am physically having mobility problems and so forth my brain is still working full time. So long as I am able I am living in my own place and so long as I dont make problems for other peoples intend to stay like this. Music and Art are my life, I want to listen to Bach with no background noise etc etc. Have no intention of staying in hospital for any longer that is absolutely necessary. Quality of life is far more important to me than length, and I make my own choices. If I was unhappy about the behaviour of the staff I would do my best to report them via the patient connection and so forth, and insist on leaving and would sign a waiver to get out. Remember the great poem Warning by Jenny Joseph, which begins
When I am old , I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesnt go and dosent suit me

Well that is the way I want to carry on., and intend to do so!
On occasions I have spoken up about situations that needed to be checked on, I have also taken older friends and a member of my choir and we have agreed t on telling a white lie , that I shall speak as their niece. This was when they had no relative alive or local, and were not getting the informtion they needed, or where being patronised or talked down to. This did allow them to find out information they should have been given, but felt that they had been fobbed off etc. So I think we all need to look out for any vunerable person a that we know about who are in hospital near us.