Intended for healthcare professionals

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News

“Harrowing accounts” show how NHS fails to meet basic standards of care of elderly people

BMJ 2011; 342 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d1064 (Published 15 February 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;342:d1064

Rapid Response:

Re:Overstretched nurses are unable to provide the care they would like to

Sharvill and Kenny have highlighted one factor, perhaps a major one,
in the uncaring actions of those responsible for determining the
establishment of nurses of various grades. Presumably, the responsibility
lies, first with the nursing managers. Either they did not ask for the
correct numbers of whole-time equivalents with the right training,or they
allowed themselves to be browbeaten in to accepting less than the bare
minimum staffing needed to provide adequate care.

Will the nursing chiefs concerned tell us what went wrong?

In response to an article - "Is quality of care improving?" the
Deaneries from London and the SouthWest as well as Humber responded
rapidly about the Deaneries' work. Could the respective Deans please tell
us how far they have succeeded in helping the nurses in their respective
regions? Sharvill and Kenny have refrained from pointing their fingers at
a particular hospital. However, the Deans - assisted by their public
health registrars should have been able to investigate the position in
their hospitals. If they have encountered obstructions, could they please
tell us who is obstructing them?

The Ombudsman and the Patients' Association would, I hope, be
interested in the answers on this web-site.

JK Anand

Competing interests: Old age

25 February 2011
JK Anand
Retired doctor
Elderly, Peterborough PE3 9PJ