International Nurses Day at New Victoria Hospital
We celebrated International Nurses Day last week and took some time to talk with some of our longest serving nurses about their role, how nursing has changed over the last 30 years, as well as the challenges and rewarding aspects of their work.
Many of our nurses were unable to travel home to see their families throughout the pandemic, but continued to provide exceptional levels of care, despite their own personal circumstances. We regularly obtain high patient satisfaction scores, a survey given to each patient upon discharge, with 99-100% of patients rating nursing as good, very good or excellent.
Patients often quote individual nurses on Doctify praising their care. One patient recently said “I felt very well looked after during each visit. The experience on the day of the operation was excellent, with wonderful nurses and nice facilities.” Another commented, “Even with Covid restrictions, I felt safe, supported and listened to. This was by far the best experience I have had for aftercare.”
The influence of the pandemic on our nursing team
Our team recognised that the status of all nurses has changed, with the role being more widely recognised and appreciated, along with the need for additional responsibilities and training. In response to the pandemic, our nurses took a consolidated approach, with teams from multiple departments working closely together for the best patient outcome, creating a safer environment for everyone.
Another significant change raised by our nurses was the introduction of mandatory pre-operative assessment of each patient, which has had a dramatic impact on the patient’s journey, giving each person the freedom to make more decisions about their care and treatment. This way of empowering patients has been rewarding for our nurses as has the role of working alongside doctors where the nurses are enjoying greater levels of autonomy.
Jacqui Smith, Outpatient Manager, said “It is a great privilege dealing with end-of-life care, never more so than during the terrible pandemic, when the nursing community was truly tested. But even in these dark moments, there were many proud moments, walking the corridors feeling that we could hold our heads high for the level of care we were providing. The Outpatient Department closed almost overnight, so that the OPD nursing team could work alongside colleagues on the ward. Every team at NVH without exception did what was required to continue to give high level care”.
Hospital Ward Manager, Denise Loubser said “it’s the little moments that have the largest impact, holding someone’s hand when they are genuinely terrified counts more than anything else. One joyous moment was when a patient who had suffered a severe stroke came in at the very start of the pandemic and made it their goal that they would walk out of the hospital one day, and he did”.
On International Nurses Day, we celebrated our team with small treats and a gathering where our Director of Clinical Services, Gill Welch, gave a speech praising the team. She said “I am so proud of the way our nurses consistently provide fantastic care to patients. I admire their strength, adaptability and resilience which contributes to making New Victoria Hospital the success it is today”.
Chief Executive, David Marshall said, “I am immensely proud of the way our nursing staff coped during the pandemic and it is extremely heart-warming to listen to their stories. Despite all the challenges facing the healthcare sector in the wake of the pandemic it is rewarding to hear that our hospital values of demonstrating compassion and building community support with integrity is being upheld with unfaltering levels of excellence”.
Post-pandemic, our Hospital continues to thrive. With both patients and nurses more conscious of healthcare needs now more than ever, our experienced and versatile nurses are in best position to provide even greater care.
