now getting on for 6pm, and she had been
there when I first arrived at 7.30am. She
informed me that she was working a 14-hour
‘double’ shift, but that she had had a halfhour break for lunch. It was a her second
14-hour shift in two days, but she was
looking forward to having four days off,
before returning for a normal ‘shift’ and then
doing another two days of 14 hours each
again.
“How do you feel by this time of day?” I
asked her.
“Pretty tired and ready to go home”, came
the reply.
me to do it. I used to work three double shifts
in succession, but I found that too much”,
she replied. “There. You’re all done. Here’s
your letter. Take it to your local surgery to
explain what you’ve had done and have the
stitches out in seven days’ time. You can go
home now.”
It was nearly 6.30pm.
As I left I thought to myself – one nurse
working a 14-hour shift, looking after a 6cubicled ward, and doing everything with
practically no assistance from any of the
other nurses. That really is not a good thing.
“That’s not good for you or your levels of
concentration and performance, and
certainly not good for your patients, is it?”
said I.
And now N.I.C.E. is advocating one nurse to
eight patients. They must be joking. At the
risk of offending any medical professionals,
either currently practising or retired, who
read this, I have to say the suggestion is
absolutely ridiculous!
“No, not really. But the hospital is happy for
Geoff Buss
23