My afternoon shift on the female ward in the winter of 1970, like any other, started with handover – an important part of knowing which patients had been discharged, who had been admitted and any special nursing requirements.
It was cold and snowing outside and I was glad to be in the warmth of the ward. Temperatures had to be taken, toileting requirements had to be met, beds checks carried out to make sure that the top sheet was folded over the blankets by exactly eighteen inches.
In a side ward was an elderly lady who had been transferred from Storthes Hall because she had fallen out of bed and fractured her head of femur. She was lying halfway down the bed with the bedclothes rolled down to the bottom of the bed and the huge side-window opened fully. The snow was drifting in gently across the bed. I quickly shut the window and covered the lady up, making a mental note to check back on her when I had finished what I was doing.
After ten minutes I made my way back, only to be met with the same situation. The window was wide open and the bed clothes had been folded back to the bottom of the bed. I couldn’t quite understand how it had happened. The elderly lady wasn’t capable of climbing out of bed and opening the window nor was she even capable of folding the bed clothes back. Again, I shut the window and placed the blankets back on her to warm her body before going off to complete some other task.
I was still quite perturbed at what I had seen, so resolved to go back and see if she was OK, which I did after fifteen minutes. To say I was astounded at finding the lady without any bedclothes on in a freezing room with an open window is an understatement.
I addressed her needs and then quickly made my way to see the Ward Sister to report my concerns. I had no sooner started to blurt out what I’d seen when I was firmly told to ‘shut up.’ I was very taken aback and, feeling that I hadn’t been heard properly, I began to repeat what had happened. This time there was no mistaking Sister’s tone or meaning as she ordered me to shut up.
For a long time afterwards I was very confused. It seemed to me that Sister had wanted this lady to die and I did not know why. I had come into nursing to care for those who were sick and vulnerable and, as far as I was concerned, every life was precious. It is hard being seventeen, lacking in confidence and not being worldly-wise either.
After that sequence of events, I became a target for the Ward Sister. Every aspect of my work was criticised and whenever I was due to go off-duty, she forbade me to go. Only when she was replaced by another Sister did I feel able to say that I had been due to go off-duty over an hour ago and to ask `Could I please be released.’ The other student nurses did see what was going on and were supportive, but there was little they could do.
This is a partial chapter from my first book in the trilogy The Prejudged which details my early life. I have memories which predate my first birthday. This is the start of my whistle blowing 'career' and it was not any easier for me than it would be for anyone else.
The book is copyrighted and is available on Amazon worldwide and from the original publisher Shieldcrest.
It was cold and snowing outside and I was glad to be in the warmth of the ward. Temperatures had to be taken, toileting requirements had to be met, beds checks carried out to make sure that the top sheet was folded over the blankets by exactly eighteen inches.
In a side ward was an elderly lady who had been transferred from Storthes Hall because she had fallen out of bed and fractured her head of femur. She was lying halfway down the bed with the bedclothes rolled down to the bottom of the bed and the huge side-window opened fully. The snow was drifting in gently across the bed. I quickly shut the window and covered the lady up, making a mental note to check back on her when I had finished what I was doing.
After ten minutes I made my way back, only to be met with the same situation. The window was wide open and the bed clothes had been folded back to the bottom of the bed. I couldn’t quite understand how it had happened. The elderly lady wasn’t capable of climbing out of bed and opening the window nor was she even capable of folding the bed clothes back. Again, I shut the window and placed the blankets back on her to warm her body before going off to complete some other task.
I was still quite perturbed at what I had seen, so resolved to go back and see if she was OK, which I did after fifteen minutes. To say I was astounded at finding the lady without any bedclothes on in a freezing room with an open window is an understatement.
I addressed her needs and then quickly made my way to see the Ward Sister to report my concerns. I had no sooner started to blurt out what I’d seen when I was firmly told to ‘shut up.’ I was very taken aback and, feeling that I hadn’t been heard properly, I began to repeat what had happened. This time there was no mistaking Sister’s tone or meaning as she ordered me to shut up.
For a long time afterwards I was very confused. It seemed to me that Sister had wanted this lady to die and I did not know why. I had come into nursing to care for those who were sick and vulnerable and, as far as I was concerned, every life was precious. It is hard being seventeen, lacking in confidence and not being worldly-wise either.
After that sequence of events, I became a target for the Ward Sister. Every aspect of my work was criticised and whenever I was due to go off-duty, she forbade me to go. Only when she was replaced by another Sister did I feel able to say that I had been due to go off-duty over an hour ago and to ask `Could I please be released.’ The other student nurses did see what was going on and were supportive, but there was little they could do.
This is a partial chapter from my first book in the trilogy The Prejudged which details my early life. I have memories which predate my first birthday. This is the start of my whistle blowing 'career' and it was not any easier for me than it would be for anyone else.
The book is copyrighted and is available on Amazon worldwide and from the original publisher Shieldcrest.