Celebrating Practice

My old friend and colleague David Ash ( centre) with the staff of the Spinal Injury Unit Sheffield

I work for a health board which is in " special measures"
This is not the place to discuss such matters, but suffice to say that for a variety of reasons, I am , unfortunately ashamed of the place that employs me.
Of course at times like these, good practice and excellent care can sometimes be overlooked . Especially when morale is low and policies and proceedures overwhelm Workers on the shop floor.
I 'll share with you a short story.
A few weeks ago , I took handover from a fairly -new-to-ITC nurse called Caroline.
It was Caroline's last shift on intensive care and her handover was detailed and precise. Every aspect of her patient's care had been completed to a high standard. The family had been supported and given appropriate information and the patient had been washed with a diligent care   , with the myriad of lines and ivs all neatly labelled and organised. Caroline had done a good job on her busy day shift and I told her so.
When morale is low in a Hospital trust , positive feedback is sometimes the first thing to go missing I always think

Yesterday, I received some feedback for some ' basic' nursing care , I gave over a decade ago and it came out of the blue.
On facebook, I read an entry celebrating the work of one of my colleagues from the Sheffield Spinal Injury Unit who had recently retired.
Illustrating the entry was a group photo of the present day nursing and medical staff and I left a bright a breezy comment wishing my old colleague well and commenting that I only recognised a few " old faces"
A former patient from the unit commented on my comment. He wrote

Pete *" I remember you John, I think, were you not in charge of Osbourne 1, and was planning on moving to Wales, if so then I remember you well, you took the time to wash my hair for me, after a month of being in ICU, I will never forget the feeling of the warm water running over my head, simple things hey, but that I am so grateful for.

I was incredibly moved that this guy had remembered this tiny bit of essential but ever so simple piece of care after ten years and I was reminded that time and time and time again, I witness such unsung moments at my place of work . Moments that will be remembered but perhaps overlooked in
this climate of " special measures"
So all of us, but especially to the managers who have to firefight on a daily basis.
Take a minute to praise those small vital moments of nursing care