The NHS needs a 21st century wake-up call
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The NHS needs a 21st century wake-up call

Jane Bates Retired nurse

Way back in the Dark Ages – before I started my nurse training – I worked in a bookshop with two older women who were former nurses. They had been forced to give up their careers when they began their families.

Nursing Standard. 36, 8, 12-12. doi: 10.7748/ns.36.8.12.s8

Published: 04 August 2021

‘Marriage and motherhood weren’t compatible with nursing in those days,’ they said. ‘We could not have conflicting ties; nursing was all or nothing.’

We chuckled away and agreed this was archaic, and that now we were in the 1970s, times had moved on. But now here we are in 2021 and the saga continues.

A community nurse in Cumbria, Gemma Dobson, has been dismissed by her trust for being unable to work weekends because… well, because she is a mother and has to look after her children, two of whom have disabilities.

Not so enlightened, are we?

Women have always carried the majority of family caring responsibilities, whether for children or older adults. The nursing workforce is predominantly female, so surely this should be factored into our working lives.

So much for work-life balance

When I had my own offspring, I gave up my job with the NHS. I had heard the criticism fellow nurses endured from their colleagues, and the dressings-down from management, if ever they dared put family first and request a day off to care for a sick child, say. It was 18 years before my arm was twisted hard enough for me to go back.

It is looking hopeful that Ms Dobson may win her appeal for unfair dismissal. But with a global shortage of nurses, her employer’s inflexibility seems irresponsible.

The NHS has once more shot itself in the foot, risking the loss of a valuable staff member through its own intransigence. When will it drag itself out of the Dark Ages?

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