I’ve been a cancer nurse for over 30 years – things have never been so bad

Understaffed wards are full of exhausted nurses; meanwhile cancer has changed and the NHS isn’t catching up with it

This morning, we had nine new patients on the ward. They will all need support to manage the rollercoaster that is having cancer.

Nine may not seem like many, but I’m already seeing 80 patients this week. Every single one needs to be treated as an individual – as a person first, and a cancer patient second. This takes time – which, as the only clinical nurse specialist in my department, I’m finding harder and harder to find.

Related: Meet the nurse who will soon perform surgery on patients alone

It’s heart-breaking to see the younger generation of nurses struggling

Continue reading... October 30, 2017 at 03:50PM