Contents -

In the Group
Did You Know.....?
Round the N.H.S.
Shop Talk
Fire Instructions
Letters to the Editors
Technical Nursing Library

The staff donations in lieu of flowers in respect of the Late Dr. Ralph Steinert, amounted to £14.00, and in accordance with his wishes this has been forwarded for the benefit of the Warrington & District Society for the Deaf.

R, French,
Hospital Secretary.

Reply from the Warrington & District Society for the Deaf, Wilson Patten Street, Warrington WA1 1PG.

9th January, 1974

"The Hospital Secretary,
Winwick Hospital,
Winwick,
Warrington, Lancs

.

Dear Mr. French,

Thank you for your letter of the 28th ult., enclosing cheques totalling £14,00 as donations to the Society, in memory of Doctor Steinert. While he was Chairman of the Society, Ralph had done an enormous amount of work for the Deaf and we on the Management Committee will miss him greatly, both as a Chairman and a friend.

I should be greatly obliged if you would pass on my thanks and the thanks of the Society to the individual contributors.

Yours sincerely,

D.K. Jones
Honorary Treasurer."

IN THE GROUP

Fears have been expressed that the recently announced cut-back in local Government expenditure will mean the deferring of the plans tor the new 1,045 bedded district General Hospital at Warrington. However, the Liverpool Regional Hospital Board have appealed to the Department of Health not to delay the go-ahead for the £M14½ project Work on the first phase was due to start early in 1974.

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DID YOU KNOW....?

In the 'reorganised' health service......

Only one in five Regional Health Authority members are women.

Only fifteen in total are Trade Unionists. or manual workers.

60% of all members are people who were involved in the old RHBs and HMCs.

All the RHA Chairmen and 90% of the AHA Chairmen come from the hospital service.

Hospital Complaints Procedure - New Code of Practice

A Committee set up in 1971 to study hospital complaints procedure has set out a detailed new Code of Practice for dealing with suggestions and complaints about hospital services.

The Committee - Chaired by Sir Michael Davies - discovered 'serious gaps' in the information provided to patients and relatives on how to make complaints or suggestions.

Among the main recommendations are:-

(1) The National Code of Practice should be uniformly applied by all health authorities and should be available to all. Initial responsibility for investigating complaints whould lie with the health authorities, but independent external checks are needed to supplement internal investigations.

(2) Oral and written suggestions and complaints ints should be equally valid, but those made orally should be dealt with the Ward Sister or Charge Nurse on the spot, if possible.

(3) A record book should be kept in every hospital to record all complaints, and every patient should be given on admission a booklet with details of the complaints procedure.

(4) The report sets out the exact procedures for action at ward level, senior staff level, of area and regional authorities, the Department of Health, the Hospital Advisory Service, the Health Service Commissioner and the Community Health Councils. Exact detail of such procedures was found to be necessary following the inadequacies of established machinery revealed in the Ely, Farleigh and Whittingham Inquiries.

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ROUND THE NHS

One for the Pot

In an effort to reduce costs, the Manchester Regional Hospital Board is to supply tea bags instead of loose tea to the hospitals in the region.

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SHOP TALK

Stepping Stones Club.

Over 200 people spent an enjoyable evening on Friday, December 28th, when they went on a river cruise organised by the Stepping Stones Club. Conveyed to Liverpool by coach, guests embarked upon the "Royal Iris" for four hours of music, dining and dancing. The river was calm and no-one seemed too perturbed by the sensation of drinking whilst riverside lights swayed slowly past the windows of the boat.

A disco provided the music and the evening was rounded off with a 'novelty' session.

Some guests were rather surprisod to see their evening conclude with a 'mystery tour' when their coach took a circuitous route home and managed to clock 88 miles returning from Liverpool!

Alice Fogg.

Ne were saddened to hear of the death over the Christmas period of Nurse Alice Fogg,

Nurse Fogg came to Winwick in 1963 and later qualified as a State Enrolled Nurse. She worked for several years on Delph Hospital when it was an admission ward complex. She retired from the hospital only six months ago and her early death came as a shock to her colleagues.

Ward Changes.

Ward 30, previously a female long-stay ward, has now reopened as a 22-bedded male admission ward. The ward is part of Firm 'C', serving the Ormskirk/Bootle/Southport areas.

Ward 15, male long-stay, has now movad to Ward 43.

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L o s t

In Recreational Hall toilet, Tuesday, 8th January, 1974: Eternity Ring. Finder please contact Mrs. June Booth, Delph. Reward offered.

To all who are sick at present we send our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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S.O.S. Wanted

Coloured pictures wanted of FILMSTARS, FOOTBALLERS, etc., PLACES, CARS. FOOD, BOTTLES. ANYTHING that can be cut out of books, periodicals, etc. to be used as pictures in a frame for ward decorating.

Collecting point:-

Sister Critchley,
Ward 36, Unit 9.

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FIRE INSTRUCTIONS,

We have received a letter from a member of the night staff asking - quite rightly - what should be done when a member of staff is instructed by a senior officer to act in contravention of HMC rules; in this case the instructions with regard to fire prevention and evacuation procedure.

On paper the answer is simple - the employee is responsible for carrying out the instructions of the HMC. However, when this means refusing to carry out orders from a senior then the risk of victimisation can be sufficient to deter all but the extremely stout-hearted.

In its deliberations the Working Party on Fire Precautions never envisaged that the policy document produced would prove comprehensive enough to cover the million and one eventualities which may occur in a hospital this size. It did intend, however, that once staff were aware of their responsibilities in fire prevention and evacuation procedure, then good :practice would follow.

It may well be that certain improvements in procedure take time to implement - although this is little excuse in any public inquiry - but unless the reasons for delay are communicated to staff, then the person on the job will see the issue as simply one of being asked to act contrary to written instructions with a consequent undermining of the importance of these instructions.

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SOCIAL CLUB

Billiards and Snooker Section

Recent results in the Warrington League

Winwick A	7	St. Augustine's	1
Greenall's A	1	Winwick B	7

In the Inter-hospitals Billiards Competition to be played on Wednesday, January 30th, Winwick B play Fazakerley at Fazakerley. Team - P. Hastry, J. Massey, M. Price and P. Hilton.

Social Club Discos.

These recommenced in late December and will continue each Friday unless otherwise specified. All members and guests are very welcome.

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WELL DONE

Our thanks to the Hospital Engineer and his staff, particularly Roy and Bill, for their whole-hearted oo-operation during the recent redecoration of our ward. The results are a credit to their craftsmanship.

Charge Nurse and Staff of Ward 27.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

May I thank all hospital staff and others who purchased Christmas cards, etc. through the scheme organised by Mr. & Mrs. Thomasson, members of our League of Friends at Winwick Hospital.

The full amount I have paid to Mr. & Mrs. Thomasson is £396.00 and almost £100.00 will be returned to the League funds for the benefit of our patients.

J.E. Wright.

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Dear Sirs,

I feel that I must vent my extreme anger through the pages of the "Standard" to the inhuman person who decided that some of our patients must work on Christmas Day.

I will never forget the expression on a certain patient's face when he was told that he had to go to work. Indeed, he expressed a mild form of protest.

I would not call this rehabilitation, surely it is exploitation of our patients in its worst form and must definitely have reached its limits.

A reply from 'someone in authority' in this matter would be appreciated.

Yours truly,

David Evans, St./N.

Editor's comment.

Mr. J.A. Jolley, Employment Officer, writes.......

"Incidents such as this do still occur, in spite of the rehabilitation programme which we are endeavouring to pursue. Perhaps ward staff could help by being more aware of their responsibility in this area.

Certainly, any future occurrences of this kind should be brought to my attention."

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TECHNICAL NURSING LIBRARY

New books available on loan -

'Social Interaction'	-	M. Argyle
'Special Tests and their Meanings'	-	D.M.D. Evans
'Understanding Mental Illness and its Nursing'	-	Trick & Obcarskas
'The Psychiatric Outpatient'	-	Gillis & Egort
'The Interpersonal Basis of Psychiatric Nursing'	-	Almeida & Chapman
'Textbook of Medicine for Nurses'	-	W. Hector
'Principles of Medicine & Medical Nursing'	-	Houston & Stockdale
'The Social Psychology of Work'	-	M. Argyle
'Hospital Management'	-	G. Grant
'Community Health & Social Services'	-	J. Meredith Davies
'Man and Food'	-	M. Pyke
'Bound for Broadmoor'	-	P. Thompson.

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