[lettie]

I am also too young to remember Matron. She had already been replaced by managers when I started in 1987. Matron used to run the practical side of the hospital. She would do inspections on the wards and was in charge of most things including things like laundry and cleaning. The ward sister ran her own ward and was answerable to matron. If matron thought that a ward was dirty, she would shut it down, give everybody a kick in the pants and get it cleaned up.

Modern matrons have nowhere near that kind of power, they are nurse managers retitled to include the word matron in order to try and reassure the public. Their main job these days is to juggle with the staff numbers to try and staff the shifts on the wards. Some of them do get involved with the patient care but that is because they sometimes have no choice. There are too few staff on shifts to adequately do all of the jobs, so they sometimes have to muck in. They try to work to their targets, ie, how much money can we save this year??? They listen to the staff complaining and take their grievences higher, but never get anywhere.

I would not have a modern matron job for all the tea in China. It's not worth the flack. When you've trained as a nurse or midwife, gained experience and risen through the ranks, to be constantly moaned at by your colleagues, it must be a hell of a job. Believe me the staff moans are justified. If any one of you found yourself doing an 11 hour night shift and had no tea break because it was too busy and there was nobody there to cover you, would you not moan?

These working conditions are a daily occurrence within the NHS. Nursing staff are tired and demoralised so therefore there are high levels of sickness amongst staff, which adds to the problem.