A case I heard about this week hammers home one of the causes of dissent and unhappiness in healthcare at the present time - lack of compassion in nursing.
It involved the death of an elderly gentleman who'd been under my care for a long time - I'd usually see him at home at least 4 times a week. He'd been unable to walk for the past year, and those of us who knew him well quickly realised that it was his time.
Over a period of six days in hospital he gradually slipped away and died with pneumonia. All was far from well in terms of the nursing he received during his final two or three days; most of his care was given by his ever-present daughter, as there were so few staff around that she did not dare leave her father's bedside.
On the night he died, his daughter realised his breathing was irregular and drew this concern to the attention of one of the team sitting at the nurses station, who came into the room for a brief glimpse. At the point when he stopped breathing the daughter ran for the same nurse who eventually came, after about half an hour, and promptly disappeared again having apparently gone on her meal break.
In terms of care, any sense that this was a bereavement - a most critical juncture in people's lives - was not acknowledged. Care of the sick has always been a nursing process; yet what experiences such as this illustrate is that the nursing process has failed somewhere.
There was no doubt that the elderly patient was being looked after by his nursing team; but somehow he did not receive the care that we understand and expect.
I have every sense that the nurses involved were probably over-stretched, but I suggest that what is missing I'd compassion: emotional involvement with the predicament of the patient under their care. It was recently announced that nursing students are to be tested for emotional intelligence and sensitivity as part of the selection process. There has been research to indicate that good emotional intelligence is linked with academic success and positive outcomes on the wards. But is this linked in any way to the ability to express care?
What I know for certain is that compassion is impossible in any atmosphere of stress, caused by low staffing levels, poor team relationships, the cutting of corners due to financial constraints in expenditure, and the increasing emphasis on regulation and classroom academia. Nursing is a craft, best taught by good example, in an atmosphere of supportive apprenticeship.
[Ryan Price is a Registered Nurse, Freelance Writer and Mental Health Advocate. He is passionate about promoting the essence of basic care and championing compassion in his role as a community-based nurse practitioner. He lives in rural Wales outside the small villiage of Saint Nicholas, with his partner. For press enquires or more information, email ryan@uselessdesires.co.uk]
