What is your opinion of the current standard of Nursing within the National Health Service?

I think they do a tremendous job often in the most trying of circumstances. I used to go out with a nurse and some of the pressure she was subjected to by management who needed to constantly cut costs and save money and the patients who wanted to be treated was untrue. She once told me of a bad day when she came out of a management meeting about slashing budgets and cutting overtime and within 5 minutes she had been spat at in the face by some low life who demanded to be treated there and then. I have the utmost of respect for the nurses - it is the NHS that needs sorting. Anyway I hope your wife is making a good recovery.

Nurses and Nursing auxiliaries do a great job. Though that's based on my experience of my local hospitals.

Overworked and underpaid, the nurses at my local infirmary do a wonderful Job but they are seriously understaffed. My son frequently has to stay in the dermatology ward for treatment, and it is now classed as a part-time ward as it closes on a Friday night to a Monday morning, as they cant get the staff.

Based on my experience, they do a superb job for sod all money and very little respect from many of the patients they deal with.

Some nurses are brilliant and really do care to others it's just the job and they couldn't care less. I noticed on a 10 day stay in hospital last year how many of them are walking round with bits of paper doing absolutely nothing except trying to look busy. I think the whole nursing profession needs a shakeup and go back to basics, many of them think they're more important than they are! The ones that really do the work are the auxiliaries, some of the trained staff seem to think its below then to wash someone's ****

i can't believe the answer from Barbara Doll....!! wonderful people nurses...they work SO hard...nothing is too much trouble for them...their wages are not fantastic & they work the best they can with often, limited resources. truly dedicated & caring people!!

There will still be some nurses that do a great job and care for their patients but, I think to most of them nowadays it's just a job. My local hospital is dreadful. My mother-in-law (84 yrs) went in as she had fallen at home. She was given a zimmer walking frame to help her get from her hospital bed to the toilet and on one visit (no nurse to help her) she had another fall in the toilet. They got her back to bed, and she told them her leg was sore. A nurse came with a tube of Deepheat and told her to rub it on the sore bit. The next day, it was discovered she had a broken leg. She eventually got a cast on it, but then got the diarrhoea bug and died a number of weeks later.

I just wish nurses had more time to spend on actual patient care rather than form filling and running around trying to meet government targets. I also wish the NHS would stop cutting nursing staff so that those left have to do the work of 2 or 3 people. I think most nurses do their best, the NHS is a very difficult environment to work in.

The last time I was in hospital was 2004, but the standards of the nursing staff were very high. I was for 3 days in August 04 and then another 3 days in December 04, after an operation. One of the nurses was on both times and actually remember who I was and what my name was, which shows how good she was at putting people at ease. I hope you wife gets well soon and I hope she is being well looked after. And remember the magazines and puzzle books at visiting times - there is nothing more boring than being in hospital!