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Newsletters: Ringing Change

January 2010

Emotive Voice

Andy Murtha says we belong to one of the two emotive groups in the UK

At a recent event held by Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living on Personlising Adult Social Care in Leicestershire, my mind wandered off the submect being discussed to Julius Caesar's "Divide and Conquer".

Why you migh ask? Well, we belong to one of the two emotive groups in the UK. One group being the pensioners, the other being the disabled and that is our group.

The pensioner's voice and ours is heard by the nation as something to be protected. We will all hopefully reach pensionable age and there for the grace of whatever you believe in goes anyone. A simple accident or illness and anyone can become disabled.

The day was about personalising individual budgets. It is the word individual that becomes a worry. Whilst we are all paid or provided services the same, we are that emotive voice. When you and I become Divided, you one payment and I another, the couple down the road another, will you shout as one with me if the government takes my payment away but leaves yours, or maybe even gives you a slight rise. Will we still stand as one great voice or "Divided we fall"?

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Comment: Too clever to clean up?

It may have escaped you. Lucky you. In the not too distant future all nurses (and that includes mental health nurses) are going to have a degree. Well, what do you think?

A couple of former nurses thought it was all a load of ..... the proverbial. A lot of nursing staff have been at degree level for at least the last ten years. So what's all the fuss about?

Critics have been claiming that these young people will be too "clever to clean-up". This wouldn't seem to be the problem. If I'm to take my two trusted sources to heart; it's more to do with the reasons for going into nursing. Not enough people are going into nursing because they ..... erm ... want to nurse.

If I were back on acute ward being told what to do by a university graduate might be an enligtening experience. They might be slightly surprised by meeting a patient with a totally useless doctoral thesis.

RW

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First all-female ward for Leicester

New ward 1 at Glenfield, Bradgate Unit is now up and running and is called "Heather Ward". That's official.

The ward was opened on Wednesday 16 December 2009 and first patients transferred from Stretton Ward on 17 December. The ward is spacious, light and airy. All the rooms are en-suite with pastel colour schemes.

The facilities are very modern with comfortable furnishings in the lounge and seating areas, separate dining area and bright quiet areas. There will be easy access from lounges to an enclosed outside area where patients will have more freedom. When fully operational the ward will cater for 19 female patients.

Patients on the ward said it is a comfortable environment and offers a feeling of safety.

Let's hope the new environment matches the quality of care to be given to be of a high standard. Using initiatives such as releasing time to care to service users in meeting their needs.

Pauline Hill.