Mixed-Sex Hospital Wards

On Tuesday, 24 March 2009 it was announced here in my home state of New South Wales (NSW), Sydney Australia, that our ruling Australian Labour Party (ALP) Government, will abolish mixed-sex hospital wards and rooms over the next four years at the cost of $12 million. This is in response to a 10 month Garling inquiry into public hospitals in 2008 with the final report being published back on the 27th November 2008.

As Commissioner of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals, Mr Peter Garling S.C. gives his recommendation 124 in volume 3 [page 992, chapter 28 (28.37 to 28.42) relates] of his report which the government is now implementing. His directive is:

”The policy which authorises, and the practice which gives effect to, using inpatient wards (except Intensive Care Units, High Dependency Units and Emergency Departments) to house both men and women in the same room, or separate ward space ought to cease forthwith.”

As a result the New South Wales Health Minister, John Della Bosca, made the following comment to the media on the 24th of this month in regards to his parties implementation of this recommendation:

"Gender-based rooms will enhance a patient's experience by providing greater personal privacy, improving their dignity and encouraging more open and improved communications between patients and health care professionals."

The NSW State Premier, Nathan Rees, backed his minister by adding “I think that’s a good thing” with the opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner welcoming the government's decision.

I couldn’t agree more with this decision and with that I hope to see an end to mixed-sex wards forever.

Now, I’ve been reading a few comments left on major news web sites here and overseas about this issue. The majority are in favour of abolishing it, whilst the small minority advocate keeping mixed-sex wards. One commentator stated,  “Better a mixed ward than no bed…”. I must admit he has a point and will beds go empty and waiting lists become even longer as a result of this change.

With ever-tightening Hospital budgets and access block (the prolonged wait for an inpatient hospital bed after emergency department treatment) being a major concern, some hospitals may struggle to implement the plan. We will just have to wait and see if the current NSW Labour Government will succeed, bearing in mind the small budget allocation.

Going on my personal remarks above you know where I stand. Now it’s over to you! Let me know what you think by way of comment and vote (vote over: 8 to 4 in favour of abolishing mixed-sex wards); are mixed-sex hospital wards and rooms a good thing or a bad thing? Have you ever been in one and what were your experiences?

References and Links:

1. Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals.

2. ”Caring Together: Gender-based rooms for hospital patients” NSW Government Department of Health

3. ”Single-sex wards return to NSW” ABC News

4.”Single-sex wards a good thing: Rees” The Sydney Morning Herald

To be continued…

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St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst – Hall of Fame

It is with great excitement and some trepidation that I put up these images of the nurses who trained at St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst, in the days of Hospital based training.

If you are one of those nurses who happen by chance to come across this blog, I would be eternally grateful if you would allow me to add yours to the small number that I have gathered so far.

All I need is a picture of you in your St Vincent’s hospital nurses uniform!

How do I do that? Answer: send your picture to me via the email address that you see at the bottom of this page. That’s all you have to do. I will then crop them to a size of 100 x 100 pixels and insert them into the head shot.

Note: All images are named by number, with no reference to actual names.

Yes, very small images but for me, they will be worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox!

Hopefully with any luck I will need to add more squares!

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Socrates and the grouchy old fart

Socrates, an ancient classical Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Western philosophy once said, "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others."

It would be fair to say for the ones around my vintage, as we came up through the ranks from adolescence to young adult that the majority of us would have given very little thought to any form of human excellence that Socrates spoke of, other than to have a good time and make the most of it while we were still young.

Questioning ourselves usually only occurred when our money ran short, we were caught having too much of a good time at the expensive of our first job or our precious wages went towards putting a roof over our head and paying those bills that our parents used to cover.

Yes, it would have far better to have stayed with mum and dad for a tad longer. With the emphasis being on “tad”.

As for questioning others especially our parents and teachers this was fraught with danger. Banishment to the bedroom devoid of any electronic form of entertainment was very common, with lengthy dressing downs coming prior to and afterwards.

Physical punishment usually occurred at school with six of the best from a singing cain or leather strap making themselves known to hands and behinds.

Public domain image of Socrates courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Although usually highly contained the arrogance of youth marked us all. The odd thing is that most of us had no idea we would be the target of our own former youthful shortcomings minus the restraints in the latter stages of our lives nor did we see it coming from so near.

Not all but many young adults today question everything and I mean everything without fear or favour. They give the impression they know it all. Were they born this way? Is criticizing those that mean them well just the norm?

Gone are the days of keeping your eyes open and the mouth shut. In their rush to show the whole world they can stand on their own two feet without the aid from anyone, they have no qualms' stepping on toes getting there; even those belonging to the ones that mean them well. Dissing (being disrespectful) those outside their age bracket seems to be part of their repertoire for some unknown reason and one that I can’t quite fathom. 

Biting our tongues and not giving way to saying things that we may regret is most probably the best form of defence. Taking them aside and having a quiet word in their ear far removed from an audience works quite well even though at times, letting go and letting some have it seems like a good idea; a tongue lashing that is.

For those that resort to unfair play, will they recall their lack of human excellence when reaching our age? You can bet your bottom dollar they will. If not they have not yet learnt to question themselves to order to meet the human excellence that Socrates once spoke of.

Don’t get me wrong, as questioning others can lead to the path of enlightenment. It’s just that today, much of the questioning from young adults to adults, no matter how old, is a form of play to see how far they can get. Wrongly or rightly, on most accounts it can be done far better.

For me, questioning myself is an everyday occurrence now and not a day goes by where I don’t look for answers to make myself a better and wiser person.

Yes, I know I can be an grouchy old fart at times and that I do not always meet other people’s expectations, but I do take some comfort in knowing that I am trying my best and that you can’t please everyone, no matter how hard we try.

We may not pass into the next life by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock as did Socrates but we may treat our death as the “cure—and freedom, of the soul from the body” when the time comes.

To be continued...

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Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th, the unluckiest day of the year for some, has lived up to its reputation and in true form has cast its dark shadow over my abode.

My fear of this day is apparently called paraskavedekatriaphobia. A word derived by combining the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (meaning thirteen), attached to phobia  (meaning fear).

Now, what was going to be a good day with my skin specialist (that’s another story) turned out to be nothing but trouble.


Let me count the ways!

1. The family car, a Holden Commodore, decided to pack it in and was last heard going through the death throws with our favourite mechanic.

2. The Victa ride-on lawnmower decided to have a mind of its own and refused to mow the grass that’s up to my belly button due to the unseasonal weather. Oh Yes! I can’t forget to mention this. Its rear offside wheel inexplicably fell off on its way out.

3. My friendly lawnmower repairman’s Eftpos machine decided it didn’t like the look of my visa card, even though there were sufficient funds, and coughed up on numerous occasions, “Transaction cancelled, refer to bank'”.

4. Contacting my credit union was totally fruitless with the only explanation from the kind lady being “Oh, it must be a glitch. Try again later”.

5. Arriving home I called my better half to tell her all about the not so good news, only to find the home phone had been cut off.

6. Not to be outdone I decided to ring her on my mobile (cell) phone. Making my way up into the backyard (see #2) through the snake infested grass, that’s the only place I get reception with Telstra, I found there was none!

The days not finished yet, and with nothing else better to do but wait for the car to be repaired, I’ll sit here waiting for the electricity to be cut off and to hear from the mechanic, that’s if by any stroke of luck my home phone gets reconnected in time, otherwise I will have to use telepathy. Now, what are the chances of that working?

Anyway, how was Friday the 13th for you? Any trials and tribulations of your own to take my mind off what was going to be a very promising day?

With the sounds of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” playing in the background, I do look forward to better days.

Touch wood and fingers crossed, you will all be Ok!

To be continued…

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Back from the brink

One of the biggest decisions for many couples in a loving relationship, besides deciding to live under the same roof together, is to whether or not they should cement that bond by creating their own little bundle of joy.

Photo courtesy of PDPhoto.org

Having decided that it is in fact what they both need and want, they look forward to the day when the next generation lays before them.

The sad fact is that dream may be shattered by unexpected and unexplained loss through no fault of their own.

As they manage their grief and pull themselves back from the brink with the support from those who have experienced the same thing, health care professionals, family and friends, they will over time contemplate trying again.

We have all known someone who has suffered this same loss. The immense courage and strength shown by these couples  to get back on their feet and then go on to reigniting their dream of having their own must be extremely taxing; physically, mentally and emotionally.

But I have a sneaking suspicion, the pain caused by this event may become secondary when their dream of having a baby comes to fruition.

On a positive note, I am quite sure that there are many parents, just like the countless thousands of expecting couples out there today, who wait with bated breath for the arrival of the next generation.

To be continued…

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Wedding Vow Renewal

Thirty years ago today we stood in front of Father Norman Thomas Isaac reciting our marriage vows in front of family and friends.

Our marriage having stood the test of time and all manner of hardships, including failures on my part that would make a saint take up arms with the devil, has produced three fine men and shown your absolute commitment and zeal to the sacrament of marriage for which I will remain eternally grateful and thankful for.

Knowing that actions speak louder than words it will be my undying quest to make our days together as happy as can be and to right the wrongs; for heaven knows you deserve it.

Today, on our 30th Pearl Wedding Anniversary, I reaffirm my wedding vow and total commitment to our marriage by declaring that I will continue to stand by your side and protect you; encourage you, and be open and honest with you; refrain from being judgemental and impatient; to always love, honour and respect you and be faithful ‘til the end of time.

Your loving husband,
Peter

To be continued...

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