Re: “Victoria hospitals adopt contested care model,” April 24.
As desperately as governments want to reduce nursing to a simple, task-oriented job that can be assigned to anyone, we need to realize the serious injustice that does to the thousands of British Columbians who deserve professional, thoughtful care when they or their loved ones are ill.
At times of greatest stress, with so many families struggling to care for both their children and their parents, hospitalization is a traumatic event.
Nurses are there for the whole family and require time to get to the bottom of health and social issues. Good nursing is not about hanging IV bags or throwing pills at people. It is about listening, watching, guiding, teaching. It takes time to do it well.
New patient-care models being introduced in Island hospitals rob nurses and families of this time. It is a source of great distress for nurses, as satisfied patients correlate to good care for us. We want nothing more than to provide good care.
The most valuable providers of health care are the people who get to look into a patient’s eyes and know enough to read what’s there and what needs to be addressed.
Deleting registered-nurse positions to save money is a short-sighted fix to problems that can easily be addressed by getting hospital executives to listen to nurses who have solutions. Good health and good relationships need honesty and mutual respect. Our patients will be the beneficiaries of our efforts to improve relations.
Cathie Chase
Victoria
