Kindness, caring and compassion.

• Jurisdiction: Australia
• Author: Peate, Ian
• Date: 01 February 2012

Of late not a day goes by when I do not pick up a newspaper or listen to a news summary in the United Kingdom with reference being made to poor standards of care, particularly around the care of the elderly, but not exclusively.

I recoil with shame as I read how we abuse the people who we have the privilege to care for: we fail to feed them, we fail to treat them with dignity, and we neglect them. This can become disheartening when constant news coverage reveals the most appalling maltreatment. The continuing revelations are doing nothing for morale and could potentially have an impact on the profession's ability to recruit new candidates to study nursing.

Recently, there have been several independent reports highlighting negative patient experiences which reflect a clear lack of compassionate nursing care, most often affecting the most vulnerable in our society, for example, the old and infirm, those with mental health problems and those with a learning disability.

This should have led the profession to respond with gusto to the allegations and to...