26.03.13
Nurses must learn basic care first – Hunt responds to Francis
Trainee nurses will have to spend up to a year working as a healthcare assistant first, the Government is to announce in its response to the Francis report.
Any would-be nurse who refuses to spend time doing basic work such as washing and feeding patients will be denied NHS funding for their degree – worth about £40,000.
The inquiry into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire found evidence of patients left to drink from vases and lying in their own waste. Nurses have been criticised from being too detached from patient care.
Healthcare assistants themselves will have to meet minimum training standards, including handling complaints from patients and relatives, reporting errors they have made or seen, recognising when a patient is undernourished or dehydrated and talking properly to patients.
The DH will announce a focus on ‘ingraining compassion in the NHS’ and a new chief inspector of hospitals will be appointed to take a holistic approach to standards of care. It is not yet clear whether the DH has decided to introduce a legal duty of candour for doctors and nurses, which could mean they would face criminal sanctions if they fail to report poor care.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that falsifying official health figures will become a criminal offence.
On Monday night, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Frontline, hands-on caring experience and values need to be equal with academic training.
“These measures are about recruiting all staff with the right values and giving them the training they need to do their job properly, so that patients are treated with compassion.”
Recommendation 187 in the Francis report said: “There should be a national entry level requirement that student nurses spend a minimum period of time, at least three months, working on the direct care of patients under the supervision of a registered nurse. Such experience should include direct care of patients, ideally including the elderly, and involve hands-on physical care.”
The change is to be piloted before being rolled out across England, and potentially for other clinical roles.
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