Letters
We welcome all readers’ letters, but reserve the right to edit them or withhold names and addresses. Please email:
[email protected] Please keep letters to a maximum of 150 words, and include your full name, postal address and a daytime telephone number
It will cost us all more to keep warm, but we are still stuck with frozen pay With yet another round of energy price rises announced, and a toothless regulator looking on in silence, we nurses must be clear about what effect these price increases will have on us and our patients. We – not the politicians – will experience the fallout from the ‘heat or eat’ regime that will affect so many vulnerable people, as well as our underpaid nurse colleagues, healthcare assistants and nursing students. Politicians will continue to make weak, meaningless pronouncements about the need for such price increases. But we will have to cope with the impact of hypothermia and malnourishment – and the continuing pay freeze. It is time for us to dust off the loudhailers and make our sense of outrage known on behalf of our patients and colleagues. We have everything to gain, as it is hard to imagine vehement protests would not resonate with the public. The government must be compelled to put forward credible and rational alternatives to rising energy prices, as well as keeping out of the pay review process. It is outrageous that the ministers have recommended no pay rise for NHS staff in April 2014. If the noise is deafening, it will always be heard. Zeba Arif, by email
School NURSeS SIDelINeD by The lATeST pRopoSAlS foR TeAcheRS An amendment to the Children and Families Bill going through Parliament will oblige primary and secondary schools in England to implement a medical conditions policy, which sets out how they will help pupils with underlying health problems who could end up needing emergency assistance. The amendment to the bill would require schools to draw up a
healthcare plan for every pupil with conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and nut allergy. It also calls for teachers to be trained to deal with any emergencies. This throws up many questions. Will the contractual terms and conditions of teachers be amended to include a requirement or expectation to administer medical procedures? Will teachers be trained sufficiently to know what to do if confronted with health emergencies? Who will train them? There is no mention of school nurses in any of these proposals. Why are they being sidelined? Sarah Jones, Gloucester
The chURch, NoT The NhS, ShoUlD be fUNDING hoSpITAl chAplAINS The article about hospital chaplains and who should pay them made interesting reading (Features October 16). As a Christian who was employed by the NHS for 45 years, I have no doubt that the meaning of Christianity
has changed in the minds of many. The Church of England is riven with dissent, and it is unclear what it does believe. Christians – and that includes hospital chaplains – are exhorted in the Bible to live in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and, importantly, to share their faith and preach the gospel. It was the power of this message that led to the foundation of our hospitals, schools and welfare systems, and it empowered Florence Nightingale to pioneer the profession of nursing. When I began my career, the Christian message was very much part of our training. Nurses and doctors enjoyed fellowships where we prayed and studied the Word together. I believe there is a role for Christian hospital chaplains. But they should be funded and supported by their local churches or parishioners. They are then accountable to God and their church, not to a formal employer such as the NHS. Michael Owen, Bolton
32 october 30 :: vol 28 no 9 :: 2013 STANDARD Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.