My blood was already starting to boil. One day I would hope to gain the skills of
assertiveness and be bold enough to challenge people’s ideas about how they
thought things should be. It would be one of my ongoing crusades, and I made a
mental note of this. The job was hard
enough as it was, without being told that I needed to shift my attitudes and
opinions a little, before I had even started.
Maybe Paul was right; Sally may indeed have a few issues of her own.
The managers would often have to sit down nurses and carers and
have talks with them, if there were ever any concerns or complaints. Whilst the carers should work as a team, it
wouldn’t always go to plan. Some
wouldn’t think twice about complaining about their own colleagues. Carers have reported other carers in the past
for farting on the unit. Rather than
speak to that carer directly, it was taken directly to Jennifer, with a formal letter
of complaint. The carer had to come in
on her day off and discuss about how unprofessional this was. The carer never found out who had complained
about her. In fact they still work
closely together on many shifts, with the carer oblivious to the fact that even
her closest team mates wouldn’t think twice about complaining, even over a
small matter.
I remember as a student, I would often think that all nurses used
to do was simply sit in the office, but I was already beginning to realise that
there was an awful lot of responsibility and work to do that people just
wouldn’t be able to see going on, but was incredibly important. The amount of paperwork and legal documents
that needed to be correctly filled in was a huge undertaking, let alone keeping
the relatives updated, and generally keeping the unit running well. It was very easy to pass judgements on people
before you knew the true story and what really went on behind the scenes.
Mr Jackson had arrived on the unit to see his wife Maggie. Maggie was relatively new here on the unit
and would frequently wander, and was at times tearful. We had to keep a close eye on her as Bob
would often try to grab hold of her and not let go. You needed eyes in the back of your head. Mr Jackson was in his mid 60s himself and not
too good on his feet either. He often
used to sit peacefully in the lounge area whilst his wife bustled around him
and walked up and down the corridor. He used to get quite anxious and
frustrated that he couldn’t sit his wife down for more than a few minutes. He
had resigned himself to the fact that his wife wasn’t who she used to be, but
he came every day without fail, enjoyed a cup of tea with her and then left the
unit, saying his goodbyes. He looked
like he was hiding a lot of emotional turmoil inside. He hardly ever bothered
the nurses with anything. He would ring
each morning to check on how Maggie was, and arrive later that afternoon. For him, that’s all he could do for
Maggie. It was often sad seeing the
relatives each day; they were trying their best in dealing with what had
happened, and we were here to try and help them in every way we could.
Daniel was slowly making his way towards the nursing office,
looking suspicious. It was like watching
a secret agent, trying to tiptoe past the office, trying to look as discreet as
he possibly could. He was holding on to
the hand rails alongside the wall, and shuffling a small amount each
footstep.
Paul comes bursting into the office, a thin veil of sweat
glistening on his brow.
‘Jesus wept! I never want to go on that unit ever again! Next time that happens, I’m throwing them the
keys, and saying goodbye!’
‘What happened?’
‘Where do I start?! For
starters a chap was fitting, because his syringe driver wasn’t put in properly.
They had used the wrong syringe and it had been calibrated all wrong so it
wasn’t administering the correct dose over the correct amount of time.’
‘Wow.’
‘Yeah, an absolute nightmare, then there were about a hundred
patches to do, which all needed counter signing. I’m going to make friends with
a rather large bottle of vodka tonight, that is all I am going to say about the
matter!’
‘Want a cup of tea?’
‘I thought you would never ask!’ Paul smiles.
As Paul and I sat in the office, we first saw Daniel's foot slowly
shuffling into the office doorway, then a hand, and an arm, and first Daniel's
elongated nose, and finally his full body was right in the doorway. Daniel would often walk slowly and carefully
into other residents' bedrooms, and peer
into the rooms like he had found some magical fantasy world behind each door.
The look of fascination on his face would be intense, and he would often stay
in the residents' rooms for hours on end, playing with numerous bed covers and
small stuffed animals from time to time.
Whatever took his fancy.
Paul shouted out to Daniel.
‘Hello Dan mate.’
Daniel initially looked ahead. You could tell he heard Paul’s
shout but hadn’t quite worked out where it had come from. He turns very slowly
towards the nursing office to face us both.
‘Oh..hello.’
‘You all right Dan?’
‘Yep.’
Dan starts to walk into the nursing office. Something on top of
the medication fridge has taken his fancy, and he is focusing on it as he
gently ushers himself into the office.
There is a random selection of paper on top of the fridge; repositioning
charts and diet and fluid charts. Daniel
starts to pick these up and randomly move them from one side of the fridge to
another, seemingly fascinated with their texture and appearance.
Paul and I let Daniel rearrange the office for a while. Daniel starts to pick up some of the nursing
notes, Paul interjects quickly.
‘Thank you Daniel, I need those, unless you’re going to help me
with them?’
Daniel looks confusedly at Paul.
‘Well I uhh, hmmmmm yes.’
Daniel has one of the nursing files clutched in his hand, and a
small vase in his other hand. Paul gently
tries to take the nursing file off Daniel.
‘Hey, fuck off will you, I need it!’
‘Hey Daniel, I need to write my notes in this, can I just have
this for one second please?’
‘Nooooo, fuck off! I need
it I tell you!’
Daniel grimaces, his eyes bulge, and he stares back out at Paul.
‘Hey, Daniel.’
‘What?’
‘Can I have the file please?
Here you are, why don’t you take a look outside at the posters on the
wall?’
Paul points towards some of the posters on the wall. Daniel lets out a semi sigh.
‘Oh all right then.’
Daniel walks out of the nursing station, still clutching a small
vase in his hand. He is stooped over,
and walking incredibly slowly, one tiny half step at a time.
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