Nurses - Fallen Angels?

So it seems as if the Government is putting the blame for the Staffordshire Hospitals debacle squarely on the nurses involved, and as a result it's proposed that they need better training. I suspect the fault lies well beyond those particular front line professionals, but they have a point.

My wife (no, that's not her!) was a nurse for over 20 years and trained the old fashioned way - doing the hard graft on the wards for three years with exams at the end of each year. The day they made nursing a graduate's profession was a disaster because nursing became a draw for the wrong people, many of whom had little interest in doing the tough work, and who only strived to eventually work behind a desk in a higher paid job. Harsh maybe, and I also accept it's a bit of a generalisation but it's true.

I rarely tell my Mrs she's right (don't ask!) but she predicted this at the time and has witnessed the fall of nursing standards herself whilst successive governments refuse to criticise their 'angels'. Understandable, perhaps because there are many hard-working, dedicated, and underpaid nurses out there. Of course, the public love affair with nurses over the years helps at the ballot box if politicians say the right things.

But the problem hasn't been helped by the huge influx of foreign nurses, some of whom have dubious standards of training and can barely speak English. I've had experience of this myself during a short stay in hospital. Who checks on these people?

You don't professionalise nurses by calling them graduates - you do it with proper, effective, hands-on training so let's hope the powers that be now realise that and in future less emphasis will be placed on the classroom.

Want To Be A Criminal Barrister? You Must Be Joking.

Saw an article in one of the papers recently that pointed out more students than ever have signed up to become baristers. An all-time high, apparently. Unless they all want to do highly paid corporate/ commercial work one can only assume that research isn't their strong point.

The Bar has been under seige for decades by successive governments. Legal Aid in crime has been dessimated and recent changes have meant that family lawyers are no longer on the gravy train to the extent that they were. I remember getting paid almost 10 times less for trials in front of a jury where my client's liberty was at stake whilst my newly-qualified family lawyer colleagues were raking it in for doing much less time on their feet. Bitter? Oh yes.

 But back to the current situation. More and more solicitors are qualifying as Higher Court Advocates, the CPS is doing a lot of Crown Court work themselves (cheaper than employing a barrister) and if that wasn't enough the Government is now moving to fixed fees for cases involving criminal legal aid - that's most of them.

As one junior counsel said recently:

"Barristers' chambers will be raided, from the bottom up. Those not recruited will find that practice at the independent bar is uneconomic, and will leave (or join the CPS). Chambers will implode – probably in a barrage of litigation – and the profession of criminal advocacy will have divided into a US-style system of [district attorney] prosecutors and public defenders."

I could have added '..and that's exactly want the politicians want. Prosecuted and defended by the State.'

He's wrong about the CPS taking on the fleeing hordes though - they're not recruiting.

So times are tougher than ever at the Bar, particularly if Crime is your thing. If you're one of the hundreds of law students who are about to embark on the Bar Course I can't offer you any crumbs of comfort. You're unlikely to make it at all in your chosen career and even if you do you're likely to be portrayed by politicians from all sides as a Ferrari-driving, champagne-swigging yuppie at the same time as you're struggling to pay the rent.

Time to re-think your career choices.

It's Official: The French Are Crazy

In an age when doing business is difficult and times are really hard the French have done it again. A new law going through parliament there allows workers who have ransacked their places of employments and threatened their bosses during industrial disputes complete amnesty.

Apparently, the law was drafted by Communist MPs, so no surprise there.


From our perspective we can only hope that investors turn to the U.K where there has been a liberalisation of employment laws in recent times.

Vive le Difference!