Fundamental nursing, complex problems and the lure of the simple solution

Abstract

In the first half of 2018, two healthcare initiatives to address entrenched problems in fundamental nursing care in the British NHS were heavily promoted and adopted via official channels, the nursing and lay press, and on social media, with little serious critique or apparent evaluation. “Team Hydr8” was instigated by a group of preregistration nursing students in Wales who sought to address some of the challenges of providing and monitoring oral hydration in hospital patients. The intervention entailed providing water jugs with yellow lids to vulnerable patients, as a visual cue to all staff in contact with them which would replace the need for other bedside prompts.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.