IMO what we need are nurses at the bedside, where they should be, and indeed where they
used to be (in less "advanced" times)!
That's what "intensive care" originally meant. It was referring to the
intensity of care (
ie, a higher nurse to patient ratio than that seen on the normal wards).
Sometimes we need to remember that patients are looked after (cared for, treated) by nurses, not "monitors". In fact when you think about it, all the clues are right there:-
monitor!It seems to me that in these days when "everything is possible" (technically speaking, that is) we are always a bit too keen to keep bunging hi-tech solutions at what are, actually, "low-tech" (not to mention "hands-on") human concerns (
eg, simple, traditional, nursing). We see this all the time in our daily lives outside the hospital, of course (surveillance cameras, electronic tagging, satellites peering down like the Gods of antiquity, and all the rest of the unnecessary - but intrusive - nonsense) ... but that doesn't make it "right".
Let me suggest another reaction to the
plethora of patient monitoring, "alarm-fatigue", "false positives", and all the rest:- simplify, simplify, simplify! Yes, let's have
quality, not quantity. Remember the truism (in this, and I would say
all matters of import)
Less is More!
