survived Ebola, William’s blood carries antibodies for the disease that may help his colleague’s immune system combat the virus. William’s example has been praised by the nation and the prime minister. For many, his courage and dedication have restored their faith in humanity. He should be top of the list of candidates for the next Nursing Standard nurse of the year award. Michael Owen, Bolton
WE NEED HELP FROM OUR MANAGERS, NOT A CULTURE OF BLAME AND FEAR As an experienced nurse who has worked on three wards at an NHS hospital in Wales, I am fed up at management blame and the pointing of fingers. There have been incidents on all these wards, mainly due to the complex needs of patients. I have seen nurses in tears, some of whom have worked on the wards for more than 20 years. Many colleagues say they hate the thought of going to work. It is so sad. The atmosphere is terrible and nurses are scared. We can have eight patients at a time, all needing full care, yet with only one nurse and a healthcare assistant to care for them. We do not need a tool to know that basic nursing care is not being delivered on a daily basis. We need more help from managers, not a culture of blame. Having been a manager in the past, I soon realised that if you do not look after your staff, you can forget about achieving any goal. Name and address supplied
OBESITY IS A PROBLEM, BUT IT IS UNLIKELY TO BANKRUPT THE NHS NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens is concerned about the rising cost of obesity and associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes. There are fears that this could bankrupt the NHS. He will no doubt welcome your Eat Well, Nurse Well campaign urging employers to commit to improving food choices and availability (Editorial, News and Analysis September 17). I too welcome
it as a timely and useful intervention, and hopefully an effective one. I have completed your survey (www.surveymonkey.com/s/ eatwellnursewell) and look forward to reading about the feedback you receive and the success stories. I am particularly interested in tips on how to plan healthy meals and snacks suitable for shift work in hospitals, care homes and the community. Having said that, I wonder if obesity really could bankrupt the NHS? Obesity-related conditions shorten lives. These conditions can lead to early death. Looking at this purely in economic terms, people who die early tend to die quickly. They do not claim their pensions or benefits for decade after decade, or live for many years with chronic, complex and expensive conditions. They are not a long-term burden on the state. I see the increasing burden on the NHS as being due to greater numbers of older people needing care and the rising costs of medication and treatments. Bridget Ryan, by email
‘SISTER KATE’ DID GOOD WORK AS A DAME OF THE ORDER OF MALTA My husband, who is not a nurse, enjoys reading obituaries. He asked me to access the obituary of Kate O’Hanlon on the Nursing Standard website (tinyurl.com/kateohanlon). An abridged version was published in your September 10 edition. ‘Sister Kate’ worked during the Troubles at the Royal Victoria in Belfast and wrote a much-acclaimed memoir. She was also a dame of the Order of Malta in acknowledgement of her first aid and charitable work. Your readers may be interested to know that the dames of Malta are female members of the charitable Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta. Their male counterparts are the knights of Malta. Further information can be found at www.orderofmaltaireland.org Helena Soni, by email
TWEETS OF THE WEEK What would it take to help you eat more healthily at work? Share yr views on our Eat Well Nurse Well campaign using #NScomment @NurseStandard
Employers can help eg meal breaks, but we shouldn’t need to be nannied regarding what we eat @BunzBird
Will we get free decent meals while on shift (any shift) and long enough breaks to eat and digest? @tothemoon74
I don’t get what’s wrong with bringing your own food. Can be healthy and cheap @NurseVink
@NurseStandard #eatwellnursewell #survey completed – already see how unhealthy I eat as community nurse on the go @Jemima316
Student nurses – never stop learning. You never ever know it. Be interested in sharing with other disciplines beyond nursing #WeNurses @HeatherHenry4
@HeatherHenry4 @WeNurses Also remember you can learn much from your patients especially those with long-term conditions @OCDTrudy
Nurses washing their hands in a public bathroom look like they are trying to out wash each other @Tatted_Nurse
Follow Nursing Standard @NurseStandard and join the #NScomment chat on Thursdays at 12.30pm
NURSING 24other :: voluses 29without no 4 :: permission. 2014 33 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 15, 2015. For personalseptember use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
WE NEED HELP FROM OUR MANAGERS, NOT A CULTURE OF BLAME AND FEAR As an experienced nurse who has worked on three wards at an NHS hospital in Wales, I am fed up at management blame and the pointing of fingers. There have been incidents on all these wards, mainly due to the complex needs of patients. I have seen nurses in tears, some of whom have worked on the wards for more than 20 years. Many colleagues say they hate the thought of going to work. It is so sad. The atmosphere is terrible and nurses are scared. We can have eight patients at a time, all needing full care, yet with only one nurse and a healthcare assistant to care for them. We do not need a tool to know that basic nursing care is not being delivered on a daily basis. We need more help from managers, not a culture of blame. Having been a manager in the past, I soon realised that if you do not look after your staff, you can forget about achieving any goal. Name and address supplied
OBESITY IS A PROBLEM, BUT IT IS UNLIKELY TO BANKRUPT THE NHS NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens is concerned about the rising cost of obesity and associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes. There are fears that this could bankrupt the NHS. He will no doubt welcome your Eat Well, Nurse Well campaign urging employers to commit to improving food choices and availability (Editorial, News and Analysis September 17). I too welcome
it as a timely and useful intervention, and hopefully an effective one. I have completed your survey (www.surveymonkey.com/s/ eatwellnursewell) and look forward to reading about the feedback you receive and the success stories. I am particularly interested in tips on how to plan healthy meals and snacks suitable for shift work in hospitals, care homes and the community. Having said that, I wonder if obesity really could bankrupt the NHS? Obesity-related conditions shorten lives. These conditions can lead to early death. Looking at this purely in economic terms, people who die early tend to die quickly. They do not claim their pensions or benefits for decade after decade, or live for many years with chronic, complex and expensive conditions. They are not a long-term burden on the state. I see the increasing burden on the NHS as being due to greater numbers of older people needing care and the rising costs of medication and treatments. Bridget Ryan, by email
‘SISTER KATE’ DID GOOD WORK AS A DAME OF THE ORDER OF MALTA My husband, who is not a nurse, enjoys reading obituaries. He asked me to access the obituary of Kate O’Hanlon on the Nursing Standard website (tinyurl.com/kateohanlon). An abridged version was published in your September 10 edition. ‘Sister Kate’ worked during the Troubles at the Royal Victoria in Belfast and wrote a much-acclaimed memoir. She was also a dame of the Order of Malta in acknowledgement of her first aid and charitable work. Your readers may be interested to know that the dames of Malta are female members of the charitable Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta. Their male counterparts are the knights of Malta. Further information can be found at www.orderofmaltaireland.org Helena Soni, by email
TWEETS OF THE WEEK What would it take to help you eat more healthily at work? Share yr views on our Eat Well Nurse Well campaign using #NScomment @NurseStandard
Employers can help eg meal breaks, but we shouldn’t need to be nannied regarding what we eat @BunzBird
Will we get free decent meals while on shift (any shift) and long enough breaks to eat and digest? @tothemoon74
I don’t get what’s wrong with bringing your own food. Can be healthy and cheap @NurseVink
@NurseStandard #eatwellnursewell #survey completed – already see how unhealthy I eat as community nurse on the go @Jemima316
Student nurses – never stop learning. You never ever know it. Be interested in sharing with other disciplines beyond nursing #WeNurses @HeatherHenry4
@HeatherHenry4 @WeNurses Also remember you can learn much from your patients especially those with long-term conditions @OCDTrudy
Nurses washing their hands in a public bathroom look like they are trying to out wash each other @Tatted_Nurse
Follow Nursing Standard @NurseStandard and join the #NScomment chat on Thursdays at 12.30pm
NURSING 24other :: voluses 29without no 4 :: permission. 2014 33 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 15, 2015. For personalseptember use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
