Being on the spot brings hospital patients comfort

Writing up patient notes and plans is no longer taking nurses away from the patient's bedside in the Medical Assessment and Planning Unit at Palmerston North Hospital.

A "nerve centre" workstation has been set up in each of the three rooms of the 13-bed unit so nurses can carry on with their computer work while keeping a close eye on patients.

Staff nurse Elizabeth Raju said she and the patients love the new arrangement.

"Everything is within reach.

"It allows constant observation of the patients, and we can respond immediately if they need anything."

The patients found the nurses' presence in the room reassuring, and didn't have to wait for someone to respond to a call bell if they needed help.

The workstations enable the nurses to be more efficient because they don't have to make multiple trips between the bedside and the centralised nursing station typical of most of the wards.

MidCentral Health director of nursing Sue Wood said the nerve centres would not work in every ward, especially where acute patients have single rooms managed from a central point in the ward.

But having a trained person on the spot was working well in the trial areas.

"Our response is quicker to patient needs and people in our care feel more secure that they have someone in the room looking after them," she said.

ASB Wine, Women and Song concert director Malcolm Hopwood said he was so impressed with the nerve centre initiatives that paying to set up more of them had been chosen as the project to benefit from money raised at the February 21 event.

"Most of us will spend time in hospital during our lifetimes and to know that a room has its own nerve centre staffed by a dedicated nurse is very comforting and will certainly help the patients' recovery."

Wine, Women and Song this year features pop-opera group La Forza from Brisbane, whose repertoire includes items from Il Divo, Josh Groban, Andrea Boccelli, Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. Wellington's Tre-Belle will also perform at the Caccia Birch concert.A portion of the proceeds of ticket sales and a collection at interval will go to the nerve centre fund.

- © Fairfax NZ News