As part of the ongoing commitment towards ensuring that all patients and service users are treated with dignity and respect, the Department of Health’s Community Nursing team, including nursing staff at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital, will be taking part in the Dignity Action Day on Wednesday 1st February 2012.
 
Dignity Action Day is a nationwide initiative led by the Dignity in Care Campaign and it provides the opportunity to demonstrate how dignity is upheld, enables the sharing of ideas and it provides the opportunity for patients and service users to comment and feedback on this issue.
 
Minister for Health, David Anderson MHK said: “Ensuring that all of our patients are treated with respect and dignity is something the Department judges as fundamental to the successful and proper delivery of our healthcare services.  Dignity isn’t an optional extra and is something embedded in our approach to health care.  But we mustn’t become complacent; there is always room for improvement and I fully support our Community Nursing team in continuing to raise awareness of this important topic.”
 
What do we mean by dignity in care settings?
The Royal College of Nursing has highlighted that dignity ‘is the essence of nursing care and that it should be at the heart of everything that nurses do.’ It has also identified that when dignity is absent from care, people feel devalued, lacking confidence, unable to make decisions and feel humiliated. Dignity can be maintained by the patient being shown respect, being treated with compassion and sensitively.
 
Cath Quilliam Director of Community Nursing said: “I am pleased to support this event which highlights the ongoing importance of dignity whether it is in an individual’s home, in a community based clinic or in the ward setting.  This fundamental issue is already actively promoted throughout Community Nursing with feedback being regularly sought through various means such as, comment slips, patient questionnaires and observations of patients care. Dignity Action Day will enable us to build on what we have already learnt and provide the opportunity for staff, patients and relatives to put forward their thoughts and suggestions to help us continually improve our practice.”
 
A recent Outpatients questionnaire at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital identified that the majority of patients felt that they were treated with dignity and respect and that they could ask questions and felt listened to. The newly built Martin Ward has also improved the dignity of patients by the creation of shower rooms in each bay which means that patients do not have to walk through the main ward to get to these facilities.
 
Dignity Action Day will include the following activities which will be taking place in various locations across the Island:
• Poster information regarding dignity
• Service Users will be given the opportunity to comment on issues around dignity via a questionnaire
• Observations of care will be carried out in the Inpatients and Outpatients Department at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital
• Staff will have the opportunity to attend a Dignity Workshop to discuss and share ideas around the subject.
 
This day will also see the official launch of an initiative aimed at promoting the well being of the patients in Martin Ward at Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital. From the 1st February patients will be offered the opportunity to receive hand or arm massage from members of the Red Cross who will be attending the Hospital once a week.
 
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