Quality of nursing in Hospitals

“Not what it used to be at hospitals”

I can only agree 100% with the statement made by N.O. of IPOH.
Sad to say this is not an issue pertaining to the G.H. of IPOH alone, but this “VIRUS” of ‘nursing negligence’ has spread all over the country and does not limit itself to the government hospitals only. The private hospitals are not less “infected by the Virus of nursing negligence” only that it is being done less obviously. I have been in Malaysia, with some interruption, since 1963. As head of a Mobile Nursing agency and currently still involved in the nursing field both in practice as well as in the teaching field,. I am regularly meeting the problem of nursing incompetence. The neglect of patients is so bad that some of the ‘nursing negligence’ are being regarded as “BIASA” particularly the development of bed sore. How are nurses to notice if a patient is endangered with the development of bed sore if the maid does all the cleaning and washing of the patient. Even when made aware of the existence of a bed sore development nurses would not inspect the area, but provide the MAID with Zinc oxide cream to apply onto the patient. If neither a nurse nor a doctor in a Hospital notices the development of necrosis on both heals of a patient, and claims that there is no antibiotic cream in the ward. Or a patient who has the mouth full of oral thrush and the nurse responding to the observation that she is awaiting the doctor instruction as to the intervention. I can only ask one question “On which planet is our nursing staff? What has happened? What sort of training do they get in the nursing schools? Are Nursing Schools just to provide nursing students with the academic know how to pass an examination or are they being motivated to become caring nursing professionals?
Of course it is unfair to generalize in giving the impression that ALL nurses are inadequate or incompetent. There are so many dedicated and conscientious nurses in both private and government hospitals. The concern is that there is a decline in nursing quality in general of which we all must be alarmed by. If only we acknowledge a deficit then we are also willing to make corrections.
The problem lies certainly also in the system itself. The higher the nurses climb in the nursing hierarchy, the less they are in contact with the patients. Resulting in the situation that very young and inexperienced nurses pass on whatever know how they have to the young trainees in a ward. So there is no surprise if “one blind leads the even more blind and the patients have to suffer the consequence.” Are we having to many highly qualified nurses in administrative positions where they have neither the time nor the opportunity to pass on and provide the practical bed-side training for the young nursing personnel?
Is it time to restructure the organizational system to provide highly qualified staff working on wards, may be rotating from wards to ward, and receive the same benefits as their counterparts in administrative positions (Nursing Directors etc.) There is a further problem: the field of nursing is still very much under the organizational and clinical domain of Medical Doctors. A paradox, as doctors are trained in medicine and not in nursing. Yet nurses will ask and wait for the doctors’ instruction as to a whole range of nursing procedures. Thisgives the impression that nurses are merely lackeys to the doctors, executing their instructions and follow their directives.
The Nurses, as well as the public are at a lost as to the role they are projecting.
Nursing is an independent profession. Nurses are working side by side with the doctors, and NOT under the doctors. The professional image is certainly part of the problems we are facing in the nursing profession. I am aware that a number of very concerned Nurses in our country realize the problem and work very hard, but without voicing on strategies and/or programs to address this issue. They will however only succeed as far as the relevant Organizational Systems are supportive and willing to review the structure of nurses Administration. The solution is in a concerted effort by ALL SECTORS related to the nursing profession.
In the meantime we can only appeal to the nurses with excellent skills to share their knowledge and the young one to take their profession serious and with pride and understand that improvement or decline of a patient’s condition lies very much in their hands.
“A hospital can survive some time without a doctor, but not an hour without a nurse”.

More information about MOBILENURSING/MOBILE DOCTOR contact:
Home Nursing Providers:
006 03-78777202
nursing@hnp-mobilenursing.com

www.hnp-mobilenursing.com