Despite a potentially record-breaking heatwave, nursing staff are still being denied access to water.
Nursing staff are reportedly still being banned from drinking water in clinical areas despite the UK facing a record-breaking heatwave.
Over the weekend, the Met Office reported that outside temperatures could hit a record-breaking 43°C next Sunday, but hospitals and care homes are likely to be much hotter.
A snap survey of 403 nursing staff found that 38% were staff banned from drinking in clinical areas despite previous calls from NHS England’s Chief Nurse Ruth May to allow this.
With temperatures already hitting 33°C, several nursing staff reported their clinical areas hit a blistering 40°C yesterday.
One nurse commented, “It seems a bit hypocritical… We are told to encourage our patients to stay hydrated, but Matron comes around and throws away our water bottles from the nurses’ station”.
Infection control policies.
Despite “infection control policies” often quoted as the reason for the ban, there is little evidence to suggest allowing resealable bottles poses any risk.
Some hospitals have also implemented a ban on the use of fans since the start of the pandemic through fear of spreading the airborne virus.
Nurses United UK has called for a compassionate shift in culture. Lead organiser for the group Anthony Johnson responded to our findings, “We need to have a cultural shift in our profession. Nurses are human beings too. It’s why our patients want us there to use our compassion to care for them.
“The managers who think it is acceptable to deny nurses water should be ashamed of themselves. How will our nurses care for us if we don’t care for them?
“As a matter of human decency and our patient safety, this “policy” needs to be challenged and grievances raised.”
