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Attracting the right permanent nursing staff
means offering quality of life, says Ishbel Straker
I AM GOING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT IS A LITTLE CONTROVERSIAL…
I understand and empathise with agency nurses. Now don’t shoot me
down in flames, this does not mean I like the impact that agencies are
having on our ever-decreasing budget, the lack of consistency with an
agency nurse, or the resentment that people’s perception of agency nurses
can breed within teams.
What I mean by this statement is that I understand the attraction of
working in this way and that we can’t keep believing that agency nurses are
simply after the money – which, by the way, I don’t think makes them the
void of morality that others seem to.
With the well-publicised issues
around the nursing pay increase –
which was as disappointing as
Theresa May’s dance moves – the
resignation of the Royal College of
Nursing chief executive and the
turmoil that is sinking us further and
further with the bursary removal,
nursing is not a government priority.
This means that wages are poor for
what we do, and the levels of stress
we have resting on our shoulders and
the hours we put in are not reflective.
Of course I understand why an
agency is appealing when it can
offer flexibility, better financial
reward and, dare I say it, an ability to
sleep better at night because the
responsibility is significantly less.
This sadly does our permanent staff
no favours, as more weight rests on
them and for less money.
So what is the solution? This needs to be a trust and organisational
response and it needs to be consistent. The NHS attempted to remove the use
of agency nurses – and did it work? No, because the trusts need staffing.
We need to talk to the nurses, discuss what they want, and have a really
good look at the salaries – and I am not talking about 50p here and there.
We need to consider the flexibility that is offered to them, not just from a
rota perspective, but also when they are paid and how they can pick up
extra shifts. Do they want progression? Possibly, but I don’t believe you join
an agency for this; you join for the reasons already stated, and that should
be the focus.
We have to play the long game in attracting these nurses with realistic
offers that will help to retain them, and make our services function with
permanent staff who are proud to work for our organisations.
Ishbel Straker is a clinical director, registered mental health nurse,
independent nurse prescriber and board member of IntNSA
‘I am going to
say something
that is a little
controversial…
I understand
and empathise
with agency
nurses.’
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
CANADA, AS WITH THE REST OF THE
WORLD, has since the 1920s
attempted to enforce a policy of
prohibition urged on the rest of the
world by its powerful southern
neighbour…When Canada completes
the legalisation of cannabis not
even one of Donald Trump’s famous
walls will be able to stop it gliding
south to the US.
Independent editorial, 17 October
IF THERE IS A WHOLE SUPPLY CHAIN
OF YOUNG PEOPLE whose lives have
been damaged, that is because this
government – and the majority of
people in the Labour camp – prefer
the ideological purity of criminalisa -
tion to any evidence-backed policy of
harm reduction. Criminalisation, as
is so often the case, is the problem
not the solution.
Alex Powell, Metro, 3 October
WHILE COUNTRIES SUCH AS
PORTUGAL are turning towards a
more progressive, public health
approach to drugs, our home
secretary is trying to drag us
backwards with punitive tactics. The
war on drugs is an abject
catastrophe that has been the cause
of untold deaths and the facilitator
of a thriving criminal market.
Emily Goddard, Guardian, 4 October
EVERY TIME I HAVE BEEN ON
QUESTION TIME, the rehearsal
question — the one not broadcast
— has been about whether we
should legalise drugs.
And everyone on the
panel and audience
seems to agree that we
should either do it right
now or ‘think about it’.
There is always input
from some skank on
the public payroll who
works with ‘drug users’
and will insist that
legalisation would clear it
up immediately and that we should
never criminalise people with an
‘illness’. What you choose to do with
your life, then, is now an illness.
Rod Liddle, Sunday Times, 21 October
WITH NO MONEY TO PAY FOR
REHAB BEDS, local authorities are
reduced to doling out drugs
themselves – for what is
maintenance, if not competing with
illegal drug dealers? The case for
rehab is normally focused on the
same calculus of cost-benefit that’s
led to their downfall. While it’s true
that properly rehabilitated addicts
and alcoholics often become
productive and responsible
members of society, it’s by no means
always the case. Whereas
maintenance programmes can often
produce effective results in terms of
lower reoffending rates and
increased employability.
Will Self, Guardian, 17 October
WE WILL LOOK BACK and be utterly
amazed that our top academic
institutions tolerated for so long the
taking of chemicals supplied by
criminals. With cigarettes, initially
we lacked the evidence that showed
the harmful effects. On drugs, we
already have the evidence. It is
insane to let this continue. The
tragedy is so many young lives have
been destroyed while we were
asleep to our responsibilities.
Sir Anthony Seldon, Mail, 7 October
November 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 19