The sick are stealing from the dying

Feb 01, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

I do not know whether to scream or to cry. I do not know which is worse, the terrifying robbery of the visually impaired or that heart-wrenching letter from a doctor practicing in the United Kingdom who complained about the abysmal nursing care meted out to his terminally-ill brother in the public health system.
Anyone who has had a relative at the Georgetown Public Hospital ought to be familiar with the uncaring attitude demonstrated by some of those nurses who work there. It is not as if all the nurses have the same attitude. There are some very helpful nurses working at that institution, but the majority of them in the system are victims of nurses who lack the empathy required of those who are paid to tend to the sick.
Reading about the experience of the visiting doctor and the lack of attention paid to his terminally-ill brother, would lead one to believe that the problem is a lack of supervision and proper management. But that is far from the truth. While there is indeed lax supervision of nurses, this is not unique to Guyana’s public health system. Yet, we find superior nursing care at private hospitals.
Nursing care in the public health system is in a crisis. Relatives of patients in public hospital know, all too well, that if they do not go to bathe and clean their sick relatives, they would be left dirty and soiled. The nurses have grown accustomed to relatives attending to the sick, and therefore if relatives do not feed them, they will have to wait on whenever the nurses decide to do so. Many nurses, when they should be running the ward, instead simply sit at their work stations and browse Facebook.
The hospital authorities should ban nurses from using smart phones and other data devices during working hours. The less time they have browsing on Facebook, the more time they can spend looking after patients.
If relatives do not go to change their sheets, the patients will lie on them for days. If relatives do not carry water, the patients will not be provided with any until meal time. The majority of nurses have an unsympathetic attitude towards the sick.
It was not surprising to learn that the visiting doctor’s terminally-ill brother was found on the floor bleeding from his wounds, and that little attention was paid by the nurses on duty. They do not care, because their training, in the main, is deficient.
The nurses do not care because they know they will not be disciplined. It is impossible to discipline them. They are well organized and well-protected. They have a strong association to defend their interests and they tend not to break ranks easily. As such, investigations into negligence will often come up empty-handed, because of the various levels of protection enjoyed by nurses.
The nurses in the public health system (again not all, but the majority) have an attitude. They are not properly trained to interact with patients and the public, and they like to boss around members of the public.
The nurses, however, cannot be blamed for theft of items belonging to patients. The stealing is carried out by other patients. When in the public hospitals, you have to learn to sleep with one eye open, because if you fall asleep, you will wake up to find some of your personal effects missing. There are persons who are seriously sick who will not miss out on an opportunity to steal from other sick patients.
When nurses see the sick stealing from the sick; when they see other patients stealing toilet paper from persons who are dying, they are drawn into this vicious culture of a lack of human empathy.
The lack of empathy in the public health system is only going to be corrected by privatizing nursing services. A whole revolution is needed in nursing care in the public health system. That can only come by privatizing nursing services.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

One thought on “The sick are stealing from the dying”

jjhim43 February 1, 2018 at 8:37 pm

had a similar experience at the fort wellington hospital, no sheets on the bed b no pillows and no nurses to care for the patients I guess this goes on all over guyana hospitals no one cares about the sick

Comments are closed.

Latest News