DIGNITY IN CARE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE , SAYS HELP THE  AGED AS RCN ISSUES SURVEY

27 April 2008

Nurses are key to driving up standards, according to leading older people's charity

Help the Aged today responded to the results of a survey of more than two thousand nurses by the Royal College of Nursing which found that eight out of ten nurses admit they have left work feeling upset or distressed because they have not been able to ensure their patients have been treated with dignity. *

Charlotte Potter, Senior Health Policy Officer at Help the Aged said:
 
"Establishing and maintaining dignity for patients is an issue of paramount importance -  patients, in particular older people, cite privacy and dignity as a primary area of concern for them when accessing healthcare.

"Nurses are key to ensuring dignity through care but they do not work in a vacuum.  If they do not receive appropriate support, patients will lose out.  More often than not it is older people, as the biggest users of the NHS, who are most affected.   

"The government has committed to making dignity in care a reality.  It needs to ensure all staff understand what that means in practice and appropriate resources and guidance are in place to make it happen."