A FORMER nurse who saw congealed blood and dirt on diagnostic equipment in a treatment room during a visit to Withybush Hospital, and dirt-caked chairs and a rusty waste paper bin in the patients' day room, has told the Western Telegraph that basic nursing care seems to be a thing of the past.

Commenting that such conditions are responsible for the superbugs in present-day hospitals, the former RGN said: "I sympathise with the nurses, who have to spend more time doing paper work than giving patient care.

"It is about time we reverted to the days when we had one ward sister in charge. At least she knew every patient and ensured her ward was clean and patients had the best possible nursing care."

She said that a large proportion of present-day nurses are degree students who have spent more time in a classroom than on the wards.

"Personally, I don't think they should be allowed to do a degree until they have had at least three years experience at ward level.

"While I was on a ward an elderly lady was calling out for a nurse for 20 minutes. No-one wanted to see her - they were all chatting at the nursing station. If the patient's primary nurse is not available no other nurse will go to the patient."

She added: "All nurses who trained before the 90s feel the same way as I do - too much paper work and too little time for basic nursing care."

A Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust spokesperson said: "The cleaning of the hospital environment and medical equipment is recognised as a vital component in controlling infection risk, as we demonstrated in the Trust's participation in the recent NHS Think Clean Day initiative.

"Work is ongoing in relation to ensuring that nurses and hotel services understand what they are each responsible for cleaning and that the teams work together to provide a clean environment for patients."