I watched this programme tonight with great interest.

This is a quote from the Channel 4 website

"Dispatches goes undercover to investigate nursing standards and care of vulnerable elderly patients in two busy NHS hospitals. Two experienced nursing assistants wear hidden cameras inside their uniforms for three months: for the first time nurses are investigating nurses.

What they discover is a damning catalogue of inefficiency, neglect and sub-standard treatment that clearly compromises patient care. Secret filming captures numerous incidents of shocking and unacceptable practices, from a lack of basic hygiene and failure to implement adequate measures to protect patients against the MRSA superbug, to the tragedy of forgotten patients left to lie in their own urine and faeces. The film illustrates how the morale of dedicated nursing staff is crushed by the behaviour of their colleagues, suggesting a profession in crisis and failing to provide the basic levels of care we have come to expect."

Whilst I am not saying that anything shown on this programme was acceptable, I think they did not show what was really going on.

My best friend is a nurse on the Neurology ward at the RUH in Bath, one of the featured hospitals. I lived with her for a year, and lost count of the number of times she came home in tears because she could not do her job properly due to severe staff shortages. During the time of the filming, she was ill twice due to stress related illness, and another nurse on the ward I know well has been suffereing form depression.

I would be interested to hear what everyone else thinks, including any other nurses or hospital staff out there?

You can bet your life [!] that no hospital in the country will be short of Admin. staff , expensive offices and up- to-date computers so that the Admin. can pass round ever more info. on targets and meetings and how to implement government directives.
Has anyone got the latest figures on how much the N.H.S. spends on nurses , doctors , cleaning staff , vis-a-vis administration ? Also , however many computers they have , it never seems to reduce the paper work ; rather the opposite , in fact.

Another thing I was wondering is whether the two women who worked undercover will ever find work within their professions again? My friend feels completely back-stabbed by somebody she went out of her way to be friendly to, and I think she will find it hard to trust new faces on her ward from now on. Surely if these two girls apply for jobs their faces will be known throughout the country, so will they get new jobs?

Although the programme uncovered serious malpractice, I thought the format of the programme was wrong. It was like reality tv, rather than showing the problems and really addressing where the root causes lie.

If there are supposed to be eight people on a ward and there are only three, how are these nurses and health carers expected to do their jobs to the high standard required?

I too would be interested in the information you mention sheffexpat.

Doesn't seem like many people (apart from me!) watched this programme...

I watched it.

The nurses have no place to feel they were "set-up", the undercover care assistant asked the nurses about 8 times to come and help that old woman and they all just fobbed her off.

If I lived in Bath or Ealing I would be very worried about having to have to go into hospital.

I didn't see the Dispatches prog, I hope it will be repeated.
In my 15 yrs NHS experience I have to say where there's smoke there's fire.
Some nurses are indeed bone idle & see their role as at the nurses station running quality controll on Cadbury products left by gratefull relatives.
If it wasn't for double standards they'd have no standards at all.

As for the nurses involved ever working in a hospital again, they have probably left the service anyway & won't be affected.

But then again, people have short memories and, with a change of hair & makeup, and a couple of weeks for water to run under the bridge....... :?

I watched the repeat of in the early hours of this morning. It was shocking viewing.