Breaking down the barriers of nursing behind closed doors

Hayley Valentine, a former critical care nurse, explores the challenges ahead for nursing ever larger numbers of patients in their own rooms.

While single-bed rooms for patients offer privacy and dignity, Hayley Valentine, a former critical care nurse and a clinical consultant for Ascom, explores the challenges ahead for nursing ever larger numbers of patients in their own rooms. Patient visibility became an issue too, with single rooms creating physical barriers for nursing where previously a nurse could observe the whole ward in a glance. There have always been issues on multi-bay wards around patient dignity and privacy and for some care, such as end-of-life support, a patient being treated in their own room is far more appropriate than in the middle of a busy bay.