Casualty shows staff acting unprofessionally, a hospital boss claims
Casualty and Holby City are filled with staff acting unprofessionally, the head of a scandal-hit hospital has said.
Antony Sumara, who has taken over at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Hospital Trust, said TV dramas such as the two hospital shows were entertaining but showed poor conduct and blatant breaches of patient confidentiality.
Writing in this week's Scrubbing Up column on the BBC website, he said: "What impression of a career in the NHS is set in the minds of young people aspiring to be the future generation of nurses, doctors or chief executives when they watch programmes filled with unprofessionalism and poor conduct?"
He went on: "Nurses, doctors and other staff regularly gossip, flirt and argue with each other, usually while treating a patient at the same time.
"But, not to worry, the patient doesn't mind and more often than not joins in."
He said patient confidentiality was "breached constantly" on the programmes, with cases regularly discussed with patients in full earshot.
"Data breaches are common with patient records left in public areas or, worse, downloaded on to portable devices only to be lost later in the programme," he added.
"Eating, drinking and smoking (directly outside A And E) are also common practice while on duty and in areas where signs are clearly displayed to the contrary, as is the use of mobile phones to make personal calls.
"Nurses and doctors have a difficult enough job at the best of times without having to live up to inappropriate role models but perhaps a group of individuals working hard together to save lives and improve the health of its patients in a caring and conscientious manner is just not good TV?"
I suspect Antony Sumara really needs to get in touch with the Health Care Professionals who work within the hospital. They are HUMAN. and yes, some patients do appreciate the banter & communication in-between staff, just don't talk over the patient, but involve them in it.
And to make a point clear, the curtains aren't soundproof,
sitting with my wife, who was undergoing tests on monday, a doctor was consenting a patient in the next cubicle along, I heard everything, Name, Age, why the consent was needed, Past Medical History, Medication the lot, even for when the consent was needed. yet, for all sense and purposes, everything was done properly
I agree with Helly7864, Antony should realise that it is an entertainment programme and poetic license is used.
If hospitals were half as much like Holby then it would be an entertaining stay hehe.
Wake up man and stop blaming the problems in the NHS on the television schedules!!!!
I really do think that people like this should engage brain before opening their mouth!!! The statement as a whole makes him look stupid and certainly not worth the money that the trust/NHS is paying him.
Ridiculous!!!!