5 A poverty of leadership
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Jane Brooks
Abstract
This chapter argues that, although many of the participants were keen to improve the care of their patients, a poverty of leadership militated against their efforts to achieve good standards of care. It begins with an examination of the antecedents to the welfare state and the foundation of the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain. The chapter suggests that the attitudes of those in the government established an ethos that enabled limited professional interest in older people's care. It focuses on the key theme that emerged from the oral histories: that of the paucity of good leadership from medicine and the senior members of the nursing profession. Based on the oral testimonies of the nurses who worked with older adult patients in English general hospitals in the second half of the twentieth century, the chapter identifies how nurses at departmental level experienced poor leadership.
Abstract
This chapter argues that, although many of the participants were keen to improve the care of their patients, a poverty of leadership militated against their efforts to achieve good standards of care. It begins with an examination of the antecedents to the welfare state and the foundation of the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain. The chapter suggests that the attitudes of those in the government established an ethos that enabled limited professional interest in older people's care. It focuses on the key theme that emerged from the oral histories: that of the paucity of good leadership from medicine and the senior members of the nursing profession. Based on the oral testimonies of the nurses who worked with older adult patients in English general hospitals in the second half of the twentieth century, the chapter identifies how nurses at departmental level experienced poor leadership.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Care and cure in nursing work
- 1 Baby and infant healthcare in Dresden, 1897–1930 21
- 2 The taste of war 35
- 3 ‘In the company of those similarly afflicted’ 52
- 4 ‘Hurting and caring’ 69
- 5 A poverty of leadership 82
- 6 Beyond the cuckoo’s nest 100
-
Part II Public health and nursing work
- 7 The cholera epidemic of 1892 and its impact on modernising public health and nursing in Hamburg 123
- 8 ‘Some kindred form of medical social work’ 144
- 9 ‘Community healthcare’ 163
- 10 Nurses in schools, coal towns and migrant camps 180
- Index 200
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Preface xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Care and cure in nursing work
- 1 Baby and infant healthcare in Dresden, 1897–1930 21
- 2 The taste of war 35
- 3 ‘In the company of those similarly afflicted’ 52
- 4 ‘Hurting and caring’ 69
- 5 A poverty of leadership 82
- 6 Beyond the cuckoo’s nest 100
-
Part II Public health and nursing work
- 7 The cholera epidemic of 1892 and its impact on modernising public health and nursing in Hamburg 123
- 8 ‘Some kindred form of medical social work’ 144
- 9 ‘Community healthcare’ 163
- 10 Nurses in schools, coal towns and migrant camps 180
- Index 200
