Privacy's pegged for hospital patients (From Herald Series)
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Privacy's pegged for hospital patients
1:10pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in News By Rhianne Pope
Ward Sister Geraldine Yebra, top, and assistant practitioner Annie Walsh show off the new pegs on the John Radcliffe’s acute stroke ward
THESE red pegs will soon be a common sight for hospital patients across Oxfordshire in a move to improve their dignity and privacy.
The pegs, which read “engaged” are placed on curtains around a patient’s bed and used as a sign that no one should enter.
It is hoped the simple system will improve privacy when care is in progress or the patient doesn’t want to be disturbed.
And after trials at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and parts of the John Radcliffe Hospital, the scheme will now be rolled out countywide.
John Radcliffe ward sister Geraldine Yebra said: “When we first trialled them we didn’t realise the big impact they would have.
“The main advantage to them is that they provide a physical deterrent. They literally hold the curtains together. So where sometimes just a closed curtain isn’t enough to stop someone, the red pegs are.”
She added: “Soon people start to recognise the pegs as a ‘stop’ sign and it prevents them going inside.
Oxford University Hospitals Trust hopes the pegs will improve privacy for patients staying on all its wards.
Assistant practitioner Annie Walsh said: “Now when we are giving personal care, or patients are talking to doctors, everyone knows.
“The pegs are simple, but they have been very effective.”
The scheme was rolled out on Wednesday to mark Dignity Action Day, a national event aiming to ensure people in care are treated as individuals.
It highlights the need to make sure they are given choice, control and a sense of purpose in their daily lives.
Also celebrating the day were staff and residents at Heathfield House care home in Bletchingdon.
Activities co-ordinator Sarah Osborne said: “It was a fantastic day, we had lots of activities going on, from smoothie-making to dominoes and a quiz.
“It was all about giving people time and being with them one-to-one. And you could really see the difference it made.”
Comments(8)
Lord Palmerstone
says...
2:44pm Fri 3 Feb 12
mandate
says...
4:45pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Lord Palmerstone wrote:Palmerstone, if you yourself had any dignity, you would'nt be knocking the wonderful indivuals who dedicate their lives to health care.
I try to avoid hospitals but media reports suggest that the main problem seems to be noone coming near, especially when you can't walk and need the loo or need help to eat. If the staff need a Dignity Action Day, maybe they're in the wrong job?
Have you ever worked as a staff nurse or an orderly?
These professionals do a fantastic job under extremely difficult circumstances. It is quite apparent that most hospitals are drastically understaffed.
Why don't you instead vent your frustration and banal sarcasm at the government. They are the ones responsible for budget cuts and the decline in standards of health care.
It saddens me to read the vindictive comments that you usually post in the Oxford Mail You strike me as being a very lonely and bitter person.
mandate
says...
4:59pm Fri 3 Feb 12
You have served in a military service, or you have a rather undistinquished academic background?
I don't think I'm too far off the mark. Am I right?
Lord Palmerstone
says...
5:00pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Your_Kidding
says...
8:02am Sat 4 Feb 12
Lord Palmerstone wrote:Recent news stories suggest, albeit a small number of cases, that he may actually have some resemblance of facts in his comment.
I try to avoid hospitals but media reports suggest that the main problem seems to be noone coming near, especially when you can't walk and need the loo or need help to eat. If the staff need a Dignity Action Day, maybe they're in the wrong job?
Abberdon
says...
12:31pm Sat 4 Feb 12
It's time the health professionals realised that although people are in hospital, they are not actually in a jail, with all the demeaning behaviours that go with that status.
Good on red pegs, is what I say.
nicole0134
says...
12:20pm Wed 8 Feb 12
These professionals do a fantastic job under extremely difficult circumstances. It is quite apparent that most hospitals are drastically understaffed"
How ridiculous to suggest that all hospital staff are brilliant etc etc. I've never worked as a nurse or orderly but I have been in hospital. The reality is that, as in all professions, there are good nurses and bad nurses. And it's a sad fact that the elderly usually are the ones that require most personal care and that responses to that need are not always as they should be.....
Dilligaf2010 says...
1:43pm Fri 3 Feb 12