Congress 2008 highlights - Monday
"Be a champion for dignity" says Carter
Dr Peter Carter, the Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has called for every member to be a champion of patient dignity in his speech today at the RCN's Annual Congress in Bournemouth.
His call for action comes as a survey released by the RCN at the weekend reveals eight of ten nurses are distressed by their inability to deliver the dignified care that patients deserve.
In his speech to Congress delegates, Dr Carter said:
"We know there are isolated examples when nursing care falls below the high standards….that's why the RCN must always stand ready to talk about this.
We have to be a guardian of high standards and a watchdog for patient dignity."
Nurses must take responsibility for the isolated problems that exist within the profession, he added, but staff shortages, scarce resources, high bed occupancy rates and the negative impact of mixed-sex wards are the principal reasons why patient care is suffering in some places.
New research released by the RCN on Monday shows nurses are spending more than one million hours every week on non-essential clerical work, such as filing, photocopying and ordering supplies. Nurses, he said, are "drowning in a sea" of paperwork.
"Paperwork needs to be done," said Peter, "but not by nurses who are there to care for patients and support relatives in their time of need. That's why we're calling for all nurses to be given direct access to admin support…the end result is more time for patient care."
He ended his speech by saying that nurses should be treated with dignity in terms of both pay and protection against violent attacks from patients and their relatives.
"There is something especially low and disgraceful about attacking hard working nurses and other health workers who are delivering care or saving lives," he said.
Read the full text of Dr Peter Carter's speech (Word 56KB).