“A Nurse’s World”

Sir, – The sentence “the author’s identity is know to The Irish Times” at the end of the two articles in the “A Nurse’s World” series speaks volumes and not because of the content of the articles.
The writer, I guess, is fearful for the future if she or he criticises or questions the system. It was ever thus in may areas of Irish life, but particularly in healthcare.
The two-tier system of nursing in’ place now for some time has done little to get across the importance of the nurse in providing compassionate care/ It would be considered old fashioned and uncool to refer to Florence Nightingale, but we should never forget Florence fought a lone battle with parliamentarian, army personnel and so many other to set the strong foundations we are now working from.
In highlighting what is wrong it is important that nurses note the socio-economic determinants of health and the environment in which health policy is made.
The Nurse who is well informed and who can look outside the box has, to my mind, a huge contribution to make to health policy. This too can make the work of the nurse more interesting and help provide the culture of powerlessness and victimisation that is clearly creeping into the discussion around the role of the nurse. – Yours, etc
ALICE LEAHY
Director of Services,
Alice Leahy Trust,
Bridge Road
Dublin 8.