Opinion

We must get the public to trust the NHS

by Barbara Stuttle 26-Nov-07

I recently received a call from one of my son's friends whose mother had cancer and was very poorly.

On talking to his friend it became clear that she and her siblings were concerned because they did not feel their mother was receiving the standard of care she should.

I advised them to talk with the sister in charge of the ward or the director of nursing and explain their concerns. They phoned me soon after and said speaking to the director of nursing had made a real difference. Following their conversation the care their mother received had been tremendous.

Feeling quite pleased that I had been able to help, I was saddened to hear that a scan had showed the mother's prognosis was extremely poor. The family was very distressed. They contacted me to find out what help and support was available. They had been given some advice, but it was clear they had been unable to extract much from this.

I gave them details on where they could access information and suggested they maximised their time with their mother as a family. They were so grateful and I felt quite humbled, as I had really done very little.

This situation got me thinking. There seems to be a readiness to criticise nursing care and a reluctance to talk to ward staff and ensure concerns are addressed. Many people seem to feel they have to complain at the highest level to get anything done. Clearly our image as nurses has been hit. Indeed, recent headlines have given the public the view that care in the NHS is below standard.

This needs to be kept in perspective. The majority of patients who receive care in the NHS have a very good experience and it is only occasionally that things go wrong. I am not suggesting such cases are not important, indeed we need to investigate any such incidents, put things right, and learn from mistakes to minimise the chances of a similar problems happening again.

Those of us working within the NHS need to do everything we can to gain the trust of our patients and the public. We need to raise our image and portray the highest standards possible so patients feel they can approach nurses if they are concerned - and feel confident that any problems will be addressed.

Escalating things up to directors of nursing should not be necessary.

Barbara Stuttle CBE, chair of the Association for Nurse Prescribing and executive nurse, South West Essex PCT.