Access to Safe Health Care And Women’s Participation in Government and Free Medical training for women. Privacy and Dignity On H

Access to Safe Health Care And Women’s Participation in Government and Free Medical training for women. Privacy and Dignity On Hospital Wards

When I was 15 I had no good GCSE grades I went into a Government Training programme and I gained qualifications along with a Job by doing this – I earned £40 PW but it was better than nothing. I was very proud of my achievements.

I went on to then work in the Hospital, I worked on a Nightingale ward as a Nursing Auxiliary learning the ropes and I progressed through 3 pay pathways also gained more qualifications in the process, I thought the qualifications were ‘accepted by University academically’. I believe Access to safe Health Care applies to nurses also working as well as the patients accessing the services. Whilst working in the NHS you get paid ‘Danger money’ and one Christmas I found I was very sick it turned out I contracted Glandular Fever, it damaged my lungs for the rest of my life I honestly believe my employment was where I contracted the bug from. I was very lucky, whilst working a Physiotherapist told me her friend also came down with the same bug but it made her paralysed and she had MS for many years confined to her bed unable to communicate or walk. The hospitals have been told to use hot soapy water for cleaning.

I was on a Nightingale ward the staff numbers were 4/5 S/N to ¾ N/A the nurses were allocated their own patients but where ever they were they could see their patients so the Staff Nurses helped each other with patient bed washes then on a gradual basis Privacy and Dignity started to creep onto the scene and the ward during an 8 year period was moved about 6/7 times and eventually we were working on Bayed wards. Everybody thinks bayed wards are brilliant for patient dignity however patient Security and safety is put at risk as Nurses can not leave their patients to help each other as staff numbers have on a gradual basis decreased to point its very dangerous staff nurses refuse to leave their bays of fear of cardiac arrest whilst away from their patients – I have been in the past waiting over an hour to have a nurse during a patient wash just feed a drip line through a fresh hospital gown, it affected a ward with a lovely work atmosphere and created a work place with a horrible, tense and sour ward atmosphere between the women and nurses.

The Government cuts have been to patients determent and has put patients at risk, stopping Agency work sometimes leaving only 2 Nurses on a ward – I have worked on a ward where this happened and the staff begged me to keep on working into the next shift but I had to go as I had planned to do things. The most serious thing I have seen happen is on the wards there used to be 30 minutes handover ‘crossover’ time where nurses would hand over important information to the next shift, this 30 minutes was taken by hospital Management to save money so there was no hand over about patients. I went on a shift and was handed nothing about my patients and I refused to do anything health care wise requested by the ward manager until I knew about who and what surgical/medical condition I was caring for.

I had to leave the Hospital due to my health, I wanted to do my Nurse Training but I have found out ALL my qualifications funded with public money have no Academic weight or recognition. I have had to go back to College and start from the bottom and will need to work my way up. I was very upset when I found this out it was as if I wasted all my years of hard work to get the NVQ’s and GNVQ’s.

Recommendations

• To ensure safety of women, either nurses or patients within the hospital setting. To make sure the hospitals are safe enough to work in.

• To make sure adequate staffing to deliver patient care

• To agree an International staffing number to work on hospital wards set by the world body, to secure patients and staff working on the wards.

• To create one International Qualification for Registered Nurse Training in University’s world wide – one set Qualification for all Nurses and Midwifes

• To create one set Qualification with Academic Recognition and automatic access into Nurse Training for Health Care Assistants/Nursing Auxiliary’s on a World wide/ Global scale. (so no health worker should ever have to go through what I have had to experience ever again)

In partnership with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), World Pulse is collecting personal stories outlining women’s experiences and recommendations on sustainable and equitable development for presentation at the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

All stories submitted on our community platform between now and June 3, 2012 will be presented at the Rio+20 Conference. Additionally, selected entries will be published in World Pulse’s digital magazine and distributed widely to international media partners.