- Email: [email protected]
At last, did they listen?
Editorial
At last, did they listen? A constant complaint from nurses is that no-one ' u p there' ever listens to our ideas or complaints or suggestions as to h o w we could solve some of the problems of the health service. In the UK, nurses are n o w to have a substantial p a y increase although, I might add, m a n y say it should have been m u c h more. Does this mean that at last, s o m e b o d y 'up there' did listen to what we had to say? It is easy to be cynical and say that shortage of nurses was the only reason for the increase of pay. Media stories of crises, no beds and no staff m a y well have influenced the decision. Did we as nurses have any influence on this policy to increase our pay? Did we only get some better deal on p a y b y default? Was it only a shortage of nurses that produced this response, this increase in the w a y we are to be valued? In 1998 the Minister of Health wrote to every National Health Service (NHS) employee asking them for suggestions and comments on h o w the health services could be improved. This involved writing to millions of employees; he received 16 744 replies containing 18 000 comments and suggestions. This is almost twice the n u m b e r of letters Ministers received in the whole of 1997, but whilst this n u m b e r sounds high, those w h o felt it worthwhile to respond were only a small percentage of the total n u m b e r of N H S employees contacted. Of these replies, less that 4500 were about p a y and working conditions, and another 4000 about
questions of priority for the health service. Government policy and hospital closures were other issues that p r o v o k e d a high response. Some of the more detailed proposals sent in will be pursued in the development of local schemes, to improve working practices and to develop staff involvement. We m u s t r e s p o n d to this type of consultation. We not only have the w o r k i n g k n o w l e d g e b u t also some bright, new, innovative ideas. Papers y o u h a v e submitted to this journal, about changes in practice, will testify to this. We have to continue to find n e w and better ways of doing things. This still d e p e n d s on our responding positively a n d retaining some belief that our voice will be h e a r d and our contribution valued. I cannot believe that we will be valued more by default and b y the highlighting of consumerdriven inadequacies. Nurses in Accident and Emergency are m u c h more proactive than that, and cannot usually be described as a passive group waiting to see what emerges. The major changes in emergency nursing continue to happen because of the energy and commitment of the staff. I would like to believe we will be paid more because of some of this energy and innovation, rather than because the n u m b e r of nurses needs to be increased.
Bob Wright Editor
Royal College of Nursing UK, A & E Nursing Association International Conference: Emergency Nursing 2000 and Beyond 17-20 August 2000, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Call for abstracts. Abstract submissions m u s t be received no later than I August 1999. Contact: Kathryn Clark, RCN, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1M OAB, UK. Tel 44 (0) 171 647 3585; Fax: 44 (0) 171 647 3412; Email: [email protected]
9 1999 H a r c o u r t Brace & Company Ltd
Accident and Emergency Nursing(1999)
7, 69-69
69
At last, did they listen? A constant complaint from nurses is that no-one ' u p there' ever listens to our ideas or complaints or suggestions as to h o w we could solve some of the problems of the health service. In the UK, nurses are n o w to have a substantial p a y increase although, I might add, m a n y say it should have been m u c h more. Does this mean that at last, s o m e b o d y 'up there' did listen to what we had to say? It is easy to be cynical and say that shortage of nurses was the only reason for the increase of pay. Media stories of crises, no beds and no staff m a y well have influenced the decision. Did we as nurses have any influence on this policy to increase our pay? Did we only get some better deal on p a y b y default? Was it only a shortage of nurses that produced this response, this increase in the w a y we are to be valued? In 1998 the Minister of Health wrote to every National Health Service (NHS) employee asking them for suggestions and comments on h o w the health services could be improved. This involved writing to millions of employees; he received 16 744 replies containing 18 000 comments and suggestions. This is almost twice the n u m b e r of letters Ministers received in the whole of 1997, but whilst this n u m b e r sounds high, those w h o felt it worthwhile to respond were only a small percentage of the total n u m b e r of N H S employees contacted. Of these replies, less that 4500 were about p a y and working conditions, and another 4000 about
questions of priority for the health service. Government policy and hospital closures were other issues that p r o v o k e d a high response. Some of the more detailed proposals sent in will be pursued in the development of local schemes, to improve working practices and to develop staff involvement. We m u s t r e s p o n d to this type of consultation. We not only have the w o r k i n g k n o w l e d g e b u t also some bright, new, innovative ideas. Papers y o u h a v e submitted to this journal, about changes in practice, will testify to this. We have to continue to find n e w and better ways of doing things. This still d e p e n d s on our responding positively a n d retaining some belief that our voice will be h e a r d and our contribution valued. I cannot believe that we will be valued more by default and b y the highlighting of consumerdriven inadequacies. Nurses in Accident and Emergency are m u c h more proactive than that, and cannot usually be described as a passive group waiting to see what emerges. The major changes in emergency nursing continue to happen because of the energy and commitment of the staff. I would like to believe we will be paid more because of some of this energy and innovation, rather than because the n u m b e r of nurses needs to be increased.
Bob Wright Editor
Royal College of Nursing UK, A & E Nursing Association International Conference: Emergency Nursing 2000 and Beyond 17-20 August 2000, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Call for abstracts. Abstract submissions m u s t be received no later than I August 1999. Contact: Kathryn Clark, RCN, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1M OAB, UK. Tel 44 (0) 171 647 3585; Fax: 44 (0) 171 647 3412; Email: [email protected]
9 1999 H a r c o u r t Brace & Company Ltd
Accident and Emergency Nursing(1999)
7, 69-69
69