Campaign against bad language by nursing staff should be permanent

The first was the discipline reinforcement and sacking of a host of nurses for foul language on patients, a distinctive problem in public health facilities apart from incessant lack of drugs and petty extortion for services like assistance in delivery, obtaining a hospital bed, etc. Then there was the fake certificates drive where a breadth of ill qualified, ill tutored staff was weeded out.

This may predictably have continued to reinforce healthier attitudes towards patients and greater concern, motivation and a sense of humility towards one’s place of employment, which was in large measure absent in the past. 

Public authorities were not disposed to implement any disciplinary measures taken against nursing staff for fear of breach of the spirit of fraternity that linked politics and working class groups, as few nursing staff would be convinced that their colleague was wrong in refusing services, or delays leading to maternal and child deaths in many instances. A mother in the throes of labour pains is told not to disturb; it was her own leisure, etc.

How far the fake certificates syndrome was a major cause of this situation, of the prevalence of fake staff out there to enjoy their brilliant machinations and contacts enabling them to secure jobs rather than any sense of vocation are one facet of things. 

What is incontestable all the same is that evil is a contagious phenomenon, that when the taboo of insulting a patient is broken, it rapidly becomes a habit, in like manner as a virus, where even healthy bodies, minds are soon likely to be affected by the contagion. Only if the taboo is now enshrined in political attitude and stringent administrative controls can it be reinforced, not be left fallow to take care of its course.

That is why it can be said that the changed atmosphere in hospitals, health centers, dispensaries and overall health care is likely to move in a positive direction though plenty of effort is still needed, as people, nurses in particular, have not been cured of foul language, only shocked on its consequences. 

Care ought to be taken, but this will be facilitated by easier access to prescription drugs on hospital counters and surgery or delivery materials where they are needed, on account of changes recently to eliminate middlemen, the cadre responsible for facilitating corruption and hardships in medical care generally. They also facilitated huge profit making by hospital staffers.

This also brings to mind some of the tasks of ruling party committees in various areas as well as trade union branches in areas of work, if they can take up current tasks of supervising ethics and observation of regulations by staffers. Earlier these organisations were merely channels of group protection and disabling of effective administration, and if the first wave of rectification focusing on discipline, complemented by removing poorly qualified staff is not complemented by proper institutional taking up of roles, sliding back to old habits cannot be ruled out. 

That is why it is vital that those in charge of organisation and mobilisation must remember that active monitoring of habits is essential, so that there is no relapse as many wish for the good old days where nurses could do virtually anything to patients and get away with it. Without vigilance, laxity breeds evil.