Time

'Doris* where are you going?'

'I'm going down there, I want to go home. It's only down the road.'

She was wandering around the ward as if she was walking the streets of her home town. She knew where the shops were, where her house was and also where the local pond was. In reality she was referring to the day room, the nurses station and the toilet.

Its a sad sad situation when you have to care for someone who is no longer themselves. The family visit an empty shell of aggression, violence and confusion. You spend twice the amount of time talking about sausages flying through windows. 'No Doris, I have never seen that.'

I like to spend time with these patients. Find out what makes them tick, what makes them comfortable. I have found many different triggers. One lady reverted back to jokes of the 40's. You know the picture of the boy peeping over the top of the wall with a large nose hanging over? She certainly did, and that came out long before I was even born. Another lady likes close contact. I would have to hug her to calm her down. It doesn't take much to find out these things.

But where do we find the time? I have 19 other patients, some in a more critical state. So where do we draw the line at proper nursing care and rushing to get a job done? Ticking boxes as we move along through the day.