Selasa, 03 Juli 2012

Nurses treat fewer than half of dying patients with the dignity they deserve, warn bereaved relatives

Nurses treat fewer than half of dying patients with the dignity they deserve, warn bereaved relatives

  • The Government has published the first survey of its kind involving 22,000 bereaved relatives to find out the level of care for dying patients
  • It reveals that only 48% of patients were always treated with dignity and respect by nurses in hospital

By Sophie Borland

PUBLISHED: 10:54 EST, 3 July 2012 | UPDATED: 10:55 EST, 3 July 2012


Half of bereaved relatives say nurses did not always treat their loved ones with dignity in their final days, a report has found.

It has raised yet further concerns that hospitals are failing to look after the elderly or terminal-ill patients at the end of their lives.

Only yesterday it emerged that a 22-year-old cancer patient had died of dehydration at a leading hospital having tried to call 999 from his bed.

Half of bereaved relatives say nurses did not always treat their loved ones with dignity in their final days, a report has found

Half of bereaved relatives say nurses did not always treat their loved ones with dignity in their final days, a report has found just one day after it emerged that cancer patient Kane Gorny (pictured with his mother) had died of dehydration at a leading hospital having tried to call 999 from his bed

An inquest heard how Kane Gorny spent his final days in discomfort and agony at the hands of ‘lazy and careless’ staff at St George’s Hospital, South London.

Now the Government has published the first survey of its kind involving 22,000 bereaved relatives to find out the level of care for dying patients.

It reveals that only 48 per cent of patients were always treated with dignity and respect by nurses in hospital, according to their relatives.

And it also implies that terminally-ill or elderly patients in hospital receive far poorer care than those in hospices or care homes.

Nearly two-thirds of relatives said their loved ones were in pain while they were in hospitals - as staff did not do enough to try and relieve it.

By comparison only 38 per cent of the relatives of patients in hospices were in pain and 55 per cent of those in care homes.

And just 30 per cent of patients who died in hospital were given a choice about where they ended their lives, according to relatives. This compared to two-thirds of those who died in a hospice.

The report has raised yet further concerns that hospitals are failing to look after the elderly or terminal-ill patients at the end of their lives (file picture)

The report has raised yet further concerns that hospitals are failing to look after the elderly or terminal-ill patients at the end of their lives (file picture)

Imelda Redmond, director of Policy and Public Affairs, at Marie Curie Cancer Care said: ‘Hospitals are letting people down at a crucial time and this poor care is leaving behind memories of loved ones being treated with little dignity and respect, and dying in pain. This is simply not good enough.

‘Families have told us, in large numbers, that their loved ones do not always get the care they need or deserve at the end of life.

‘There is no reason why we can’t provide a dignified and respectful death, regardless of setting, location or diagnosis. It is now time to learn from these findings and make improvements.'

And Eve Richardson, chief executive of the National Council for Palliative Care and the Dying Matters Coalition said: ‘It’s a real concern that the quality of care people who are dying receive appears to vary so hugely, with hospitals performing especially badly.

‘There is absolutely no excuse for not treating people who are dy ing with dignity and respect, which is why it is disturbing that hospital staff appear to be failing to do this consistently.’ 

The survey was sent to the relatives of patients who had recently died in hospital, a care home, a hospice or their own home.

They were asked a series of questions about the standards of care in their final three months.

But the findings will prompt yet further concerns over the standard of nursing care, particularly for elderly patients.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister David Cameron ordered nurses to speak to every patient on their ward once an hour to ensure they were not in pain or discomfort.

His intervention followed a spate of damning reports revealing how patients were frequently being left hungry, thirsty and in agony.

Care services minister Paul Burstow said: ‘All people, regardless of their age or condition, should get the best quality care at the end of life.'

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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as you chose not to print my comment I'll repeat it....... This is a new record DM! 3 nurse bashing articles in one day, how very clever of you. We nurses are fed up of the media and public's attitude and suspicion, fuelled by articles like this. How about we all leave the profession and let you armchair medics clean up your own mess. you wouldn't last a day without running back screaming to mummy! We deal with bodily fluids, dead bodies, dealing with rude , abusive relatives, dementia etc. Fancy a go??? Thought not! - Nurse tippytoes, London, 3/7/2012 19:43..........................................................You are paid to deal with bodily fluids etc thats your JOB. If the nursing staff had did their job looking after KANE GORNY then stories like this wouldn't be in the press. FACT

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My experience of Macmillan was that they were more interested in raising money than helping, they helped my father with attendance allowance forms and that was it, the next thing we knew requests for donations were coming in, when it came to the point when we could have done with a visit they were no where to be found, apparently not enough of them to go round. Our district nurse arranged for some help from Marie Curie nurses to give us a break, guess where our donations went.

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Fred overhere one day you will be in a hospital bed crying out for a drink,or food or a bedpan or pain relief or just someone to hold your hand.and all the time the people paid to look after you will ignore YOU.

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Fred - there was no intention to insult the entiire nursing profession! I have had the best treatment possible from nurses at the Royal Free whilst being treated for cancer over the last 3 years, for which I shall be eternally grateful. I just have an issue with nurse tippytoes comments - sorry you didn't get the point!

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Our local hospital had an eight week outbreak of norovirus, when you see nurses in the supermarket, at the petrol station, walking their dogs and going to schools wearing their "uniform" it makes you wonder how much they care about cleanliness. So go on red flag me.

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You nurses should be ashamed of yourselves. How dare you not have more arms and legs and also not be able to stretch yourselves from one end of the ward to the other. As for having any food or drink, using a toilet. Tut, tut. How can you be so human as to want something like that. Don't you know that you should be like robots instead of humans. After all, that's what the public think you are. The fact that you are doing work that Junior Doctors once did and that you are snowed under with multiple paperwork is neither here nor there. The fact that Hospitals are cutting down on nursing staff and increasing office workers is no excuse whatsoever. How dare you not work 24 hours each day without any thanks whilst getting loads of abuse. I wouldn't be a nurse if you paid me four times as much as nurses are paid and their wage levels are appallingly low. My daughter is a nurse and would get treated better if she became a road sweeper than she does being a nur se.

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I love all nurses they do such a wonderful job

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which is why I didn't become a nurse. You did and you knew what the job entailed you daft woman so stop complaining and get on with what you are paid for! - Liz, London, 3/7/2012 21:52 with a temper and attitude like that I would say you didn't choose not to become a nurse, you were denied under the mental act

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My God please help us. Can't trust Politicians/Bankers/Nurses, can no longer rely on the mail. Why is it that we pay these people!. If they were in any other form of employment they would not be, would they!. Whatever happened to the patients rights, or does this not apply within the National Health, obviously not.

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Susie, London, UK, 3/7/2012 21:25 Nurse tippytoes was replying to those that were complaining and blaming every nurse for the failings of others, there's bad apples in every barrel, are all the apples in your barrel good , its like every other profession, you specialise in a certain field then with the cuts and ward closures you have a choice,go on the dole or take a post in a ward that you hadn't any experience on but you do your best and persevere, and would you not be better waiting for the full facts of st georges scandal rather than insulting every nurse

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