"I am a nurse, and I feel ashamed!"

My father died at the age of 57, from on going heart problems a year ago.

He was a 'Stafford Hospital' patient, and after years of made to feel ashamed for being over weight and belittled by the judgmental nurses and doctors.. he decided he would no longer go into hosptital, and died a very premature death because of the humiliation he had endured.

I have been a registered nurse for the past 20 years, I was trained 'the old fashioned way' to treat a patient with respect and as if they were your own relative.

I am becoming more and more disheartened of late to be part of the NHS. I want to give the care I was trained to do .. and that is to a high standard.

But it seems since 'Trusts' were made things have gone down hill.

There is more emphasis on spending and saving money.. than the reason we are there...you can not put a price on patient care.

The fact is there arent enough staff on duty..ever.. there are vacancies that arent being filled due to poor pay. and the low standards in patient care isnt helped by the high number of agency staff. These are not employed by the trust and therefore continuity of care is none exsistant.

Too much emphasis is put on saving money.. staff cuts.. medicine cuts.

The government targets forcing A&E patients out of A&E before the 4 hour target, not only compromises patient saftey but also increases work load on A&E and the wards. the government penalise Trusts if they dont meet these targets but cant they see the bigger picture .

Lack of respect for patients and staff from the nurses and doctors doesnt help.

The programme dispatches tonight made me feel ashamed to be a nurse.. I have always been proud to say i am a nurse. I am a caring person and when i hear of nurses ignoring or mistreating patients it makes me embarrassed for them.

Old Style NHS has a lot to answer for.. the patient was number one.. as it should be today!!!