Dear Editor,
Recently I was unexpectedly admitted to the Manning Base Hospital. Having never been in hospital before, I write to support the hardworking nurses.
During my week in hospital I have nothing but praise for their efforts. Their working conditions are trying at best and near impossible at worst. Each nurse has at least 8 patients to attend to, most in need of serious care, assistance and regular medication. With some patients not quite as coherent as others and all tired, grumpy, and sick. Often the nurses are required to do double shifts, miss work breaks and overlap each other in order to keep up with the workload.
The amount of paperwork and computer checking on individual patients is extremely labour and time intensive, leaving limited time to cover all aspects of the job. As such, I note, and was told they are overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, and literally worked into the ground.
How they do it I do not know. Despite all this pressure they have an unwaveringly happy disposition, are cheerful, helpful and try their best to keep their patients informed, comfortable and healing.
My personal experience was with Jess, Belinda, and Mary. I marvelled at their tenacity, patience, skill and unwavering effort to provide care and support to patients on all levels whilst negotiating the minefield that is their workplace and its massive responsibilities. Remember, these people are changing patient’s lives. It shouldn’t be at the detriment to their own lifestyle and health.
Surely more can be done to increase the staffing levels and pay and ease the tremendous pressure they work under. With all the talk about looking after frontline workers in the current pandemic, someone has forgotten our everyday hospital nurses. THESE PEOPLE ARE AMAZING. We should be looking after them, not taking them for granted.
I will be following up with correspondence to our local MP and the Press and hope others will also take an opportunity to speak up for our nurses, after all, where would we be without them?
Jan Hodge
Wingham