RCN puts patient dignity back at heart of nursing
Published: 25 June 2008
Every NHS patient should have a guaranteed right to dignified care, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). As the NHS prepares to celebrate its sixtieth birthday, the RCN is today calling on the Government to enshrine the right to dignified, compassionate care in an NHS Constitution.
The call comes as the RCN launches a national campaign to champion patient dignity by giving nurses the practical tools to ensure compassionate care and challenge poor practice where it exists. The campaign, Dignity - at the heart of everything we do, will be launched at a conference of nurses from across the UK . The launch also includes the publication of a specially commissioned report looking at nurses’ attitudes to patient dignity. The report showed that eight out of ten nurses had left work upset or distressed because they had not been able to give patients the dignified care they would like.
The report details nurses’ concerns that hospital accommodation is often overcrowded with poorly screened bed spaces. Mixed sex accommodation and inadequate and unsuitable toilet facilities compound these problems. In addition, nurses reported a lack of treatment rooms, day rooms or quiet areas where intimate procedures or confidential discussions can be conducted.
NHS targets were identified by many nurses as having the potential to undermine dignity. Whilst the creation of a performance-driven culture has led to some benefits for patients, many nurses were critical of organisations that prioritised targets over dignity and efficiency over quality of care. The report concludes that although nurses would like to make dignity a higher priority they do not always have the time, resources or organisational support to do so.
Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, said:
“We know that nurses desperately want to give patients high quality dignified, compassionate care but that sometimes there are too many obstacles in their way.
“Dignity is not just a top priority for nurses. We know this is something that patients also feel passionately about. That’s why we have been working closely with the Patients Association, Help the Aged and the government to ensure the public’s concerns about dignity are being addressed head on.”
As part of the campaign, the RCN is developing a range of practical tools to help nurses deliver dignified care. These will include an online training resource, an interactive DVD and materials to help frontline nurses influence policies at a local level.
The RCN is also urging NHS trusts across the UK to sign up to a set of dignity principles which set out the minimum standards of care patients and their families can expect when attending an emergency department. The principles have been developed by the RCN’s Emergency Care Association with the Patients Association.
The RCN’s Dignity - at the heart of everything we do is being supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Smith & Nephew Healthcare Limited. Further details can be found at www.rcn.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit: http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediacentre.php.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.