NURSES at Barnsley Hospital have been praised by the Government after they cut back on menial jobs to spend more time with patients.
Nurses Liz Ward and Sue Yoxhall launched an efficiency drive on the wards after they found they were spending just a quarter of their shift with patients.
The changes meant the nurses doubled the amount of time they can spend with patients.
And
ministers are so impressed they have pledged £50 million to help the rest of the NHS do the same.
Liz and Sue sharpened up routines like drug rounds, meals service and shift handovers. By storing medicines on the ward and labelling them better, they slashed the time spent on drug rounds by 63 per cent.
Staff handovers take 45 minutes rather than two hours by holding them on the ward rather than in an office.
And improving the way meals arrive cut wastage from seven per cent to one per cent.
Staff found better ways to do simple jobs such as moving medicine cabinets.
Sue said: "It's not rocket science. There are simple things you shouldn't need someone to tell you how to do."
The nurses filmed their DIY efficiency drive to show other hospitals and it was soon picked up in Nottingham and Manchester. When Health Secretary Alan Johnson found out, he was so impressed he now wants all the nation's 400,000 nurses to think of improvements.
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