Hospital spoon regime

As a nurse for more than 30 years I read with disbelief, disappointment and shame about the scheme introduced on an orthopedic ward at Russells Hall Hospital. The scheme, the article states, is intended to improve communication between nursing staff and patients on the ward.The idea involves the use of a spoon placed by the patient at their bedside each day to ensure that they are "given the chance to raise any concerns or complaints" with nursing staff. Following this communication, the numbered spoon is "checked back" into the nurses' station, so ensuring that each and every patient receives their quota of verbal attention.

It is my understanding that good communication is one of the most important attributes that a nurse possesses, if not the most important.

When did ward sisters, or managers (the preferred term nowadays) cease doing a round of their patients at each shift to find out the very things that this scheme appears to be suggesting?

Further, this daily chat used to and should occur throughout the day as a matter of course during any nursing presence, not necessarily be instigated by patients, who are often reluctant to seek the attention of busy staff.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to roll out this scheme to visitors too - why not issue flags to make it even more obvious that the patients need attention or a chat. This could even be used as part of a physiotherapy exercise!

Surely it is obvious, or it certainly should be, that when people are in hospital confined to a ward and, as is often the case in orthopedics, confined to a bed, that the ward staff know, without such schemes, that basic general nursing care which includes communication throughout is essential.

If not, what sort of example, training and mentorship is being given to student nurses today?

Helen Hoult, Compton Road, Wolverhampton.