Britain: That marvellous government "planning" shows its worth

Nil worth. Closing hospitals just when lots of people are getting ill is something only a government plan could lead to

A fifth of the country's hospitals have wards that have been shut as the winter vomiting virus strikes staff and patients. Cases of the virulent nororvirus bug are expected to peak at about 200,000 a week over the next month. The disease, which causes two or three days of violent vomiting and diarrhoea, is at its highest level for five years. Doctors have warned patients to stay at home to avoid spreading the bug. Hospitals are especially vulnerable and anyone who has been ill with the bug recently is asked not to visit relatives for fear of taking the highly contagious infection on to wards.

A survey by The Daily Telegraph found that 30 hospital trusts in England had closed wards to new patients as staff struggled to contain the bug and many other hospitals had recently suffered outbreaks. The reporting system is voluntary so the number of closures could be higher.

NHS Direct reported yesterday that 1.2 million people asked its staff for advice over the extended Christmas period. Vomiting was the second most common complaint after dental pain. Norovirus is the most common cause of infectious stomach upset and although extremely unpleasant it is not normally dangerous, although it can lead to complications in vulnerable, elderly or very young patients. Hospitals in the North West and South West have been hit hard in this winter's norovirus season.

One of the hospitals worst affected is the Royal Oldham Hospital in Greater Manchester, where 66 cases were reported. Fin McNicol, the hospital's spokesman, said that strict infection control measures and a ban on all but essential family visits had brought infection numbers down to 40 and bed closures down from 40 to 26 yesterday. "Everyone knows someone that's poorly just now," he said. "In terms of the virus's effects on the hospital, it does appear to be more than normal but we have tried and tested prevention measures in place."

The Royal United Hospital in Bath has seven wards closed. Francesca Thompson, director of nursing at the hospital, said: "We do have a significant number of wards closed and are taking the situation very seriously. "We want to keep these wards closed for the time it takes to get rid of the infection and we will only reopen when it is safe to do so." She added: "We want to encourage anyone with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea to seek advice from their GP first. "People are still turning up at the hospital which could cause serious capacity issues. "We need sufficient beds to cope with serious cases and would like to ask the public to offer us their continued support."

Some regions appear to have avoided ward closures including the East Midlands, London and the North East. A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: "It is not unusual to see outbreaks occurring in hospitals, as the virus quickly spreads in confined environments. "Taking action early in an outbreak by closing a ward to new admissions can help control outbreaks."

Source






Australia: Nurses turned off by disorganized government hospitals

A third of the experienced nurses lured back to NSW public hospitals under a Government program have left again. Three days after Premier Morris Iemma bragged about the recruitment of a record 1618 new registered nurses, internal government figures show Nursing Reconnect, which was designed to address a lack of experience, is floundering. The figures, obtained by the NSW Opposition under freedom of information laws, show 1647 nurses had returned to the public hospital system under the program since it began in 2002. But 479 of them subsequently left, for other employment or to take time out.

Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said the Government had spent more than $6.5 million on Nursing Reconnect, meaning each returning nurse cost more than $4000 in refresher training and administration. "The Government spent $1.9 million recruiting people who subsequently left," Ms Skinner said. "Only 107 nurses have been recruited this year, compared to 807 in 2002. "The cost of Labor's recruitment program is rising while the number of nurses signing up is falling. Nurses won't want to come back to work while [Health Minister] Reba Meagher and the Iemma Government continue to mismanage our hospitals."

On Thursday, Ms Meagher announced the new recruits, saying that Nursing Reconnect had "attracted 1650 nurses back into the profession". But she failed to mention the high attrition rate. Yesterday Ms Meagher said the most common reasons why nurses had left were family commitments and to work elsewhere as nurses. The majority who had rejoined had stayed, she said.

NSW Nurses Association professional officer Annie Butler said improvements to conditions and pay were essential to retain nurses. Their workload had increased as ancillary positions were cut, and the frustration of seemingly minor challenges, like finding enough pillows, was immense.

Source