Compassionate health professionals
Disbelief as caring nurses disciplined
YOUR article in The Herald (April 24) – “Disbelief as caring nurses disciplined” – refers.
Disbelief is indeed not a strong enough word to describe my reaction to the Eastern Cape Department of Health’s disciplining of two nurses at Provincial Hospital who acted creatively and compassionately to arrange assistance for cancer patients who were having to climb seven flights of stairs to receive treatment.
It was as a result of the Department of Health’s own mismanagement that both lifts to the 7th floor, and all intermediate floors, at Provincial Hospital were not operating and had in fact not been operating for some days.
My reaction to the department’s action in disciplining two nurses for their caring and creative action was one of shock and dismay!
In my letter to The Herald last week I referred to “the Aloe Igazi Unit staffed by Dr Neil Littleton and his team of doctors, Dr H Nel, Dr I Mafalala and Dr D Henderson, together with a dedicated team of pharmacists and nurses”.
It is now those very same dedicated nurses who are being disciplined, whereas, I believe, they ought to be highly commended for their actions.
My view, which is I’m sure the view of many, is that the two nurses in question, while they may have contravened the health department’s media policy, were in fact responding to a crisis in the true spirit of the nursing profession by providing practical and compassionate care to their patients.
I would have hoped that Department of Health, in responding to the actions of the two nurses, instead of disciplining them, would have written them warm and congratulatory letters of commendation.
To the two nurses concerned, I say, I salute you, I thank God for you, I congratulate you and I pray that you’ll always act as creatively and compassionately as you did in providing assistance for your cancer patients to negotiate those seven flights of stairs at Provincial Hospital.
You’re a credit to the nursing profession and we need more nurses like you!
Bishop Eric Pike, Port Elizabeth