Nurses Don’t Pee
Please excuse the ‘click bait’ style title of this blog, it is, sadly, not designed to elicit clicks but to highlight a factual and unfortunate state of affairs. Nor is this blog written to point any fingers. Like all organisations, the NHS has weaknesses and problems that we could all weigh down the wheels of the band wagon with, but it is also, and hopefully will remain, a jewel in the crown of the UK.
Abstract blurred figures showing movement and pressure
This blog is more about the frontline systems, the procedures and the opportunities that leaders are blessed with to make life better for their teams. To sniff out and neutralise genuine health concerns and, through systemic change, make the world a better place.
Yes that sounds lofty and idealistic but let’s just look at the issue we're talking about here, The genuine issue that I'm using to demonstrate what leaders and organisations could be doing to win the respect and dedication of their employees. Surprise surprise, it’s not rocket science but it's a principle issue, a basic human function that needs to be addressed and it's a set of statistics that have absolutely blown my mind.
According to the National library of medicine, during a study on lower urinary tract infections, it was found that 94.2% of nurses had experienced symptoms. Just to humanise this and not make it into a cold hard number, by symptoms I mean burning, itchy sensations, pain while (eventually) urinating, distraction, soreness, concerns about what the symptoms mean, the sudden necessity to buy symptom alleviating products, drinking gallons of cranberry juice… you get the picture. None of this is pleasant and it is happening to 94.2% of the nurses that care for our kids, our families and friends and they are suffering in silence because they care about the ‘calling’ that is their job. That ‘calling’ is what makes them great and it, in itself, makes the world a better place but they are also people. They are employees and team members and cogs in the machine, soldiers on the front line, whatever way you want to describe them as, even if you do want to talk about them in terms of cold hard numbers, they are being damaged by the role they play in our society.
Person sitting with head in hands showing stress and fatigue
The research describes many of the potential causes of these infections as things like:
Distance to a water source (inadequate hydration logistics)
Infection control (they are not permitted to carry water bottles to keep hydrated)
They are too busy to go to the toilet (I suspect this is the main culprit, in fact 60.8% reported this to be the main issue)
Lack of staff to cover (again, a big player but let’s not even go there right now)
I’m not saying I have the answers here, or even that the solution is simple. What I am saying is that, whether on a human level or just in cold business terms, it is the leaders who should be mitigating these problems. It is HR who should be making systemic allowances for toilet breaks or devising infection control compliant drinking facilities. Some of my work at Cahoot gives me the golden opportunity to sit back and recognise these issues and support leaders to see the wood for the trees, because we all know too well that in any leadership role, there are a lot of trees!
With support, It is our leaders who need to recognise the problems faced by their teams and reduce the risk of team members simply doing their jobs well.
As I mentioned above, this is a factual and recognised issue in a sector that we all rely on. A profession that we all believe in, trust and are even motivated to bang pots for outside our homes during difficult national times I’d prefer not to mention. If this kind of health-effecting situation currently exists within health professionals what else is going on that could be avoided with perceptive, agile and human leadership?
If this is the reality for those we trust to care for others, it raises an important question for leaders everywhere. What are the unseen pressures within our own teams, and what responsibility do we have to notice and reduce them?
