Just a rant from a nurse

[Bestkindaparty]

I know there's a 101 threads about the nursing strike. But I just need an anonymous forum to rant.
I left home at 6am this morning and I'm only just getting home. I need a shower because someone threw their hot coffee over me because I didn't answer their buzzer fast enough and they needed a pillow. I didn't answer it quick enough because I was performing cpr on a child with suspected strep A. 12 hours into my shift without a break because we just don't have the staff.
All week on Facebook tiktok and other social media all I've seen is how disgusting us nurses are. How people will die because of the strikes all because we want more money.
Yes we want to paid fairly. We do not get paid enough for the training we do. 2300 hours of unpaid work and then other 3000 hours of uni. Plus all the responsibilities we have. Some people think we're just doctors assistants but its not like that anymore. But the main reason is we're tired of fearing for our pins (that we pay a yearly fee for) we're tired of not being able to care for people the way we want because there's not enough staff. The ratio is supposed to be 1 to 3. I can't remember when I've had less than 8 patients. We want to protect the NHS. We need people to join and to retain current staff who are leaving in droves due to burnout. What happens when there's none of us left?
We had no option but to strike. Nothing else has worked. We want to protect ours and everyone's future. Personally I don't want to cry on every drive to and from work because I'm scared someone will die due to me not being able to give the care they need.
If you've got this far thanks for reading

@Fluffycloudland77 you certainly have some weird personal issues with nurses. Quite sad really. Do you judge your patients and colleagues like this ?
To suggest nurses in social care are happy is a joke cos obviously social care under the tories is flourishing.

Prinnny
@ Clavinova and what is your ‘clue’, what role do you play frontline in the NHS? What knowledge do you have to try and discredit the OP for mentioning strep A? As in my trust resus overnight had two children too unwell to be moved requiring airway support, and as I mentioned unthread my friends toddler died as a result of strep A last week, but pray tell us why my first hand experience is ‘unprofessional’?

You didn't mention strep A up thread as far as I can see. You blamed hospital negligence for the death of your friend's toddler but didn't specify any illnesses.

If you must know, my own knowledge of the NHS/nursing care also involves a very young child - I spent 3 weeks in hospital with ds1, who was seriously unwell as a toddler in 2003 (fully recovered thank goodness). I slept most nights in a hospital chair, apart from the 4 nights he was in intensive care - when I had my own room, but no curtains for some reason.

Some nursing staff were good - others not so good:
I wasn't very impressed with the nurse who 'borrowed' ds1's drip stand when he was first placed on a ward, and then replaced it with different stand covered in thick dust she had found in a store room - which I had to clean myself because she gave me a 'dirty look' and walked away when I politely pointed it out it was very dusty. I wasn't very impressed with the nurse who glibly said; 'It's a good job we were so late with your child's pain relief [several hours late] - otherwise we would not have known he had acquired a hospital infection [epidural site] - it's lucky he was screaming in pain' (ds1 had to have a second general anesthetic just to check the hospital acquired infection hadn't gone to his spine - it hadn't, weren't we lucky - according to the nurse.) I wasn't very impressed with the nurse who suggested that my child's D&V was probably a reaction to his antibiotics - when I told the consultant who had come to see us he said; 'They didn't tell you that did they? I can tell you now, it's not the antibiotics, they have rotavirus on the ward.' I wasn't very impressed with the nurse who said she didn't have a key to the playroom because someone was on holiday (a room full of books and toys - shut for the entire 2.5 weeks we were on the ward).

Prinnny
@ Clavinova you think speaking your truth is unprofessional? You should be in the Tory party love

I'm pretty sure Labour were in government in 2003.

How is the child 🤔

Occupational Therapist here ( nearly 30 years in the NHS) and my daughter is in her final year training as a Paramedic . Good Nurses are the glue that hold a Ward together . 100% support you .

Thank you so much for everything you do. I support the strikes 100%.

I’ve worked in healthcare for the last 6 years. I will always defend our nurses, in care and nursing homes, in private healthcare and the NHS. I have seen with my own eyes what you do without the correct pay and appreciation.
You are amazing.
I understand and fully support a nurses strike

💐 💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐

@Clavinova so I was correct, you have no clue, unless you have walked in our shoes you can’t begin to understand.

👏👏👏

Why don't you believe it? Are you claiming that hospitals are not currently dealing with children with suspected strep A who are very ill indeed? What is your evidence?

So it’s an emergency paeds ward and an adult ward OP is working on does such a ward exist do they mix ages ?

Sometimes there is no separate paeds. Also paeds goes up to about age 16, we don't know what age the coffee-thrower was, could have been a parent even.

I’d imagine it’s an A&E department where nurses can be caring from patients from birth to old age, there’s often little bays referred to as wards for those requiring a period of observation or for those awaiting an inpatient bed.

@Clavinova I thought the same.

@Clavinova considering you don’t believe the OP, your recollection of your child’s hospital stay sounds extremely far fetched.

'It's a good job we were so late with your child's pain relief [several hours late] - otherwise we would not have known he had acquired a hospital infection [epidural site] - it's lucky he was screaming in pain'

I genuinely cannot believe a nurse ever said “it’s lucky he was screaming in pain”

I don’t think it’s about ‘not believing’ it’s just the reference to the child needing resus having Strep A, it just seems very on the money.

Bicurator
I don’t think it’s about ‘not believing’ it’s just the reference to the child needing resus having Strep A, it just seems very on the money

Yes - that's exactly what I meant. Well put.

Ginsloth
I genuinely cannot believe a nurse ever said “it’s lucky he was screaming in pain”

That's my recollection - or very similar. I also recall one of the junior doctors banging the side of her head several times with the palm of her hand - indicating she couldn't concentrate because ds1 was screaming so much (NB he was generally a very mild mannered and easy toddler).

your recollection of your child’s hospital stay sounds extremely far fetched

I can give you some more details if you like - happy for you to point out inaccuracies: ds1 had a post surgery catheter, a chest drain and then a cannula above his ankle - as well as the epidural mentioned above. In fact, the catheter also caused an infection (I had to point out there was blood in his wee) - which meant he had to have a kidney scan at his local hospital a few weeks after we returned home - and the cannula caused him to revert back to crawling for a few days. Oh - and I slept in a hard-backed chair, not a recliner and the cleaners rarely cleaned under the beds as far as I could see. This was Great Ormond Street Hospital by the way. Not sure why the playroom was locked - perhaps because of the rotavirus they didn't want me to know about?? Luckily, I discovered a lovely little bookshop a few streets away and dh came most nights after work.

One of the hospital registrars telephoned me at home - I'm not sure if she was phoning out of genuine concern or whether she was worried we might be lodging a complaint - I think she was being blamed for missing the epidural site infection (pointed remark by the consultant in her presence). I might be wrong, but I believe actress Lesley Ash had a similar infection (epidural site) but a less happy outcome - ds1 was back to full health within 8 weeks, so we moved on.

@Clavinova It brought back memories of Covid and people claiming the childrens wards were full of extremely Ill children with covid for example, it plays on peoples worst fears. I support the nurses strike and feel they do a very difficult job I just question that particular fact as don’t feel it’s necessary/relevant.

Bicurator

Fair enough.

I 100% support you nurses and thank you your post actually brought tears to my eyes .
Where I'm from it's nothing but support for nurses, you are all doing an amazing job x

Another teacher here who supports you 100%. I never thought I'd witness a nurses' strike, it's dreadful that it's come to this.
Are there some bad nurses? Of course, but the vast majority are working hard, giving over and above, every day ❤️