Industry News

HASA CELEBRATEs NURSES

08 June 2010

In Categories: Nursing , Industry News , Industry News > General , Industry News > Patients

By Lucas Malambe

The Hospital Association of SA celebrated the International Year of the Nurse in style at the elegant Morrels Boutique Hotel on 19 May 2010. Marking the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale the event was beautiful and elegant as it was stylish.

But it did not end in glitz and glamour. Renowned members of the nursing fraternity had a great opportunity to reflect on issues vital to nursing. The event was organised by the Hasa Nursing Sub-Committee and the CEO of Hasa Adv Kurt Worrall-Clare was there to offer support.

Top nursing thinkers gathered on a range of issues pertinent to the future of healthcare and nursing. The image of nursing, in general, has received heavy body blows in the recent past and it was incumbent of these leaders to also look at ways to restore nursing as a noble professional just as The Nightingale taught 100 years ago.

Celebrating World Nurses Month, Hasa aimed to highlight the challenges all role players face as they expect changes as a result of OSD as well as the training and scope of nursing. The event comprised of analysis and intense discussions largely on improving quality and nursing.

Care must always go to the delivery of quality nursing of both the private and public health institutions. A vibrant public sector must mean an even healthier private industry for the good of the broader public health. If quality nursing does not improve, it is not much use for the nation – both private and public sectors.  People must perceive change at the point of service in terms of quality nursing. How we shift staff around and train (and upgrade) nurses will be less appreciated if such does not translate to quality at the bedside.

For example, nursing managers, to improve quality and excellence, must also encourage fearless reporting of adverse events by both nurses and patients. Professor Stuart Whittaker once said that if staff is too scared to report adverse events, it prevents hospitals from putting up barriers to prevent these incidents.

I agree with Professor Whittaker. There is a difference between human error and unintended mistakes on the one hand, and reckless or negligent behaviour on the other. Both the private and public sectors need to encourage staff to report adverse events without fear of being punished.

Hospitals need to develop a culture of quality where people are rewarded for improving standards and meeting quality targets. Well, it may be that it is about time to put understandable and measurable targets for nursing personnel as a way to push up excellence as compared to punish them. Research has shown that as budget constraints are implemented, the number of adverse events increases.  Reporting processes and collection of data can play an important role in improving quality in hospitals. 

Nonetheless, we must not be myopic when looking at nursing quality. The improvement of nursing quality and excellence must link up with all aspects of hospital services including management, clinical, support, professionals, hotel and technical services. 

For the time being, it is hard to understand the impact that the expected changes will have on nursing as a profession and nurses in particular. We all hope that the impact will be positive, and that health, quality health, will soon cease to be a privilege but a right as enshrined in our constitution.

This instalment of HasaNews packs articles on nursing by nurses. It traces the pertinent debate with regard to nursing, thus helping in understanding the dynamics of such a noble profession and pillar of health care.