Posted on 12/04/2007 10:49:43 AM PST by UKrepublican
Hospital staff told to make sure Muslim patients' beds face Mecca five times a day
The job of the nurse used to one of caring for the sick and needy.
But not - it would seem - in today's politically-correct Britain.
Now, nurses are being encouraged to spend valuable time turning around the beds of Muslim patients up to five times a day - so they can face Mecca.
In a bid to promote cultural understanding, they are also expected to provide patients with running water so they can wash before prayer.
And then, of course, they are required to turn the beds back around to return the wards to normality. The measures are being pursued by Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust to ensure Muslim patients have a "more comfortable stay in hospital".
Hundreds of staff have attended tax-payer-funded workshops with Muslim GPs and ethnic-minority support groups on how best to help patients.
During these meetings, nurses have been told that if a patient asks for water to bathe in, or for their bed to be turned to face Mecca, then this should be considered.
If the measure is deemed "practically possible" and does not impinge on other patients, then it should be carried out.
And if it is not practical, nurses are encouraged to find them a bed that faces Mecca permanently.
But an experienced nurse at Dewsbury and District Hospital in Yorkshire where the ideas are being tested, has blasted the scheme.
She said: "It would be easier to create Muslim-only wards with every bed facing Mecca than deal with this.
"We have a huge Muslim population in Dewsbury and if we are having to turn dozens of beds to face Mecca five times a day, plus provide running water before and after prayers, it is bound to impact on the essential medical service we are supposed to be providing.
"Although the beds are designed to be moved, the bays are not really suitable for having loads of beds moving around to face a different direction and, despite our best efforts, it does cause disruption for non-Muslim patients."
Conservative MP David Davies also criticised the idea, saying: "Hospitals should be concentrating on stopping the spread of infections than kowtowing to the politically-correct brigade."
The workshops - led by the hospital's chief matron Catherine Briggs - looked at Muslims' religious concerns over being in hospital.
A key part of Islamic faith is praying five times a day to Mecca, Saudi Arabia - revered as the birthplace of the prophet Mohammed.
Muslims are also meant to wash themselves in running water prior to prayer.
Although staff said they would do everything possible to help patients fulfil these obligations, a request by Muslim women to be seen by female-only doctors was not guaranteed.
The scheme comes just a year after some NHS hospitals introduced Burka-style gowns for Muslim patients who did not want to show their face during operations.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust confirmed that nurses were encouraged to help meet individual requests.
She said: "Nurses have not been ordered to move beds or provide running water - they have just been encouraged to help meet patients' needs wherever possible.
"If a sick patient requests that their bed be moved to face Mecca, then it is right that the hospital looks at this request - even if it is more than once a day.
"If it is practically possible - and is not inappropriate or inconvenient to nurses or other patients - then it is right that nurses try and carry it out.
"We can also try and move the patient to a bed that faces Mecca permanently."
My relative has a pig. I’m renaming the pig “Mohammed”. Hope it doesn’t keel over in disgust.
The Muzzies are just pushing to see how much they can make the infidels accomodate them.
Time to tell them to go pss up a rope.
I hope the hospital gift shop doesn’t sell bears named Mohammed.
Whats a “uni-slamic”?
Is that like a single wheeled salami that you can ride around?
“defecate in the direction of Mecca “
I call this “making an image of Muhammed”.
Commando raid the Mecca stone and put it in orbit and let them figure out where it is.
I like your style...
I spent 2 months in a Seattle hospital this past summer. Heart surgery, stroke during surgery and then MRSA.
My nurses ran their tails off and I can’t imagine them having to take time out to do this silly garbage.
Let’s just Nuke Mecca and be done with this foolishness.
Will they be setting up Christmas Trees in the rooms of Christians next week?
Each patient should be allotted a certain amount of time being attended to by nurses depending on their ailment. If they want that time spent checking vitals, administering drugs, changing bedpans and bedding, and diagnosing their ongoing condition (i.e., proviing primary care), that’s what they should get. If they want their beds turned instead, fine, but there won’t be time for that primary care stuff. Their choice, problem will solve itself quite rapidly...
So critical care will be overlooked while NURSES are moving beds. Again, PC kills.
Islam and Muslims are a curse to all of mankind.
Why not just send the patient to Mecca and be done with it?
Will buses and trains have to face Mecca 5 times a day?
All this for a political world system that believes that homicide bombing is a sacrament.
UFB.
Or to save money, just hold MRSA-ridden pillows over their faces...
How primitive, even plants can turn towards the sun on their own.
Yes and also a nation that decides to not include appropriate historical facts about maniacle mass-murderer tyrants such as Adolph Hitler.
The appropriate psychological term going on hard now in the UK is called ‘relativism’. It’s basically says anything you do can be justified and so accountability really is up to the individual rather the a society who has rigid laws and enforces justice. Unfortunatley, it is also happening here as well. When I see school sport teams up through Junior High School not keep score because ‘every kid is a winner’ then I know something is wrong in the USA. Every human being in special, but not teaching that competition exists in the real world is beyond stupid, it is irresponsible and damaging to a child’s very future.
Yes and the same with Australia’s new PM as well. The message is simple: We welcome you here if you want to become an Australian and adopt our culture, our rule of law and our principles.
President Bush went too far with this ‘religion of peace’ nonsense and could have simply asked Americans to restrain there hands after 911 and allowed justice to be dealt with the purpotrators only. The UK and the USA need to adopt the Australian model.
“redesign”
If these people have different diagnostic machines attached, wouldn’t the cables get all tangled up? How could a nurse twist everything around for, say, 6 of her patients and provide adequate care for her other patients? Is this actually practical, medically sound, and ethical?
Now that’s the real solution - send them all back home. They they can have the hospital just the way they want it.
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