WITH reference to Pat Cutmore’s letter on nursing care (HAS, Sept 7), I agree that medical and surgical procedures have vastly improved since I trained in 1956.

We were trained on the wards not in a university. Five days on the ward, one day in a classroom, one day off. Discipline was strict.

The matron knew every patient in the hospital and did rounds of the wards every day.

There was no chief executive sitting in an ivory tower with numerous non-medical staff thinking up ludicrous ways to impede general nursing care like wearing tabards saying do not speak to nurses.

I worked as a civilian nurse for seven years in a military hospital, where everyone was medically qualified from the highest to lowest, and everything ran like clockwork.

Changes are being made in the NHS, hopefully for the better.

Less top management and more hands-on would be an improvement.

Name and address supplied.

IN response to Pat Cutmore’s recent letter (HAS, Sept 7) re.

nursing care and the wearing of tabards by qualified nurses doing drug rounds saying “Do not disturb – drug round in progress”. There appears to be a misconception as to why nurses are wearing them.

They are not aimed at patients not being able to speak to the nurse but other influences on the ward, such as secretaries, phone call requests and porters who may need to speak to someone.

If that person sees the nurse wearing the tabard then they will look for another member of staff to speak to because the nurse is concentrating on the medications.

As a qualified staff nurse, when doing the drug rounds it is one of the best opportunities to speak to your patients regarding any problems, pains or concerns they may have.

In doing so, we do not expect patients not to disturb us.

While I may not necessarily agree with having to wear them, I hope people may now understand that these tabards are not directed at patients.

Caroline Box, Catterick Garrison.