The Edge Of Forks Tongue

The Edge of Forks
Tongue

Play by Paul
McCann

 

Introduction:

An 82 year old
woman is being discharged after 5 days in hospital for hypertension

 

Setting:

Its afternoon change
over shift in a busy hospital. Lots of people are coming and going. In the
nurses station a handover is taking place and suddenly a call assist alarm sounds.
It is coning from a room at the end of the corridor. The EN who has just come
on duty and she goes to check the call.

 

Actors:

Paul
    – Male EN

Charity – Ms Forks –
Elderly Patient

Nurse knocks on the
door and enters the room.  He switched off the call assist alarm and turns
to the patient who looks upset and is murmuring.

Dialogue begins

Ms Forks: (Murmurs) its
enough to make me want to scream. This place is a circus not a hospital and I’m
sick of all the clowns around here. I’m sick of everything.

Male EN: Ms Forks
its Paul. What is wrong?

Ms Forks: What I
can’t hear you.   

Male EN: Ms Forks
you pressed the alarm. Are you ok.

Ms Forks: Speak up. I
can’t hear what you’re saying.

Male EN :(
pointing to his ears) have you got your hearing aids on Ms Forks?

Ms Forks: “What. I can’t
hear a work you’re saying.

The nurse checks her
hearing aids and discovers that they are turned down low. He adjusts the volume
to high and puts them in her ears.

Male EN: “Can you
hear me now Ms Forks?”

Ms Forks: “Finally. “ 

Male EN: “Are you
ok, the call alarm was going.

Ms Forks: “I don’t
know how that happened but as you’re here I need to ask you about my medication.
I was about to take my tablets and I noticed they are blue and mine are brown.   

Male EN:”Let me
have at look at them.”

Ms Forks: (She hands
the nurse the packet) I might be deaf but I’m not blind.  

Male EN: You’re
right these tables are Mr Knives, Ms Forks. I’m very sorry about that and I’ll
see to it that you get your medication.

Ms Forks: “Not good enough.
You people are full of excuses. Too many apologies, too many mistakes, too many
times as far as I’m concerned. “

Male EN: ‘I’m sorry,
I mean. How can I help you Ms Forks?”

Ms Forks: “I’m being discharged,
so there’s nothing you can do even if you tried. I’ll go home to my garden and
try to forget this place ever existed. “  

Male EN: “It’s
been such a pleasure to get to know you Ms Forks and I’ll always remember you. I
always look for ward to seeing you when I come to work. I’ll miss you.

(Ms Forks is lost for
words for a moment. She mellows a little), 

Ms Forks: “How long
have you worked here?”

Male EN: “Ten
years now Ms Forks?”

Ms Forks:  “Well
you must know what you’re doing then.”

Male EN: “I’m
still learning and people like you are a great help. Being a male nurse is not
always easy.  Older women have a problem with that but you’ve always
allowed me time to help you. Is there anything I cans do for you Ms Forks.”

Ms Forks :  ‘Well
then if it will help you and prevent anyone from suffering what I have had to
suffer in here then , Ok I’ll tell you .“

Male EN: “Thank
you for that Ms Forks. You will make me a better nurse. “

Ms Forks: ‘It’s awful
getting old. Don’t get old Paul. I’m on my own and I have no one to help me. Tomorrow
I have to leave because they need the room for someone else, I need to pack my
things and get a taxi home. “

Male EN: “Ms Forks,
I’ll help you pack tonight before I leave and organize the taxi or some other
transport with home care service. Oh and by the way I don’t think I can stop
from getting old, ‘ 

Ms Forks: ‘Thank you
for that, .well gets old but what ever you do. Don’t get sick. “

Male EN: “Ok I’ll
write that down. “

Ms Forks: ‘Another
thing I’ve been here 5 days, now they tell me I need to have blood test done. Why
could they do that when I was in here?”

Male  EN : “
Because they assessing your hypertension and looking at other factors related
to your overall care plan that has not been updated and part of that is to have
a CT scan of your abdomen , some blood tests and follow up appointments with
your doctor as well as here the hospital .“

Ms Forks: ‘As I said before,
don’t get sick when you get old, it’s very inconvenient.”    

Male  EN : “ The
RN will see you tomorrow before you leave and give you all the details about
the appointments and home care services that will assist you with transport and
support through all them procedures you have ahead of you Ms Forks “. 

Ms Forks: “Now I don’t
feel as old as I did before. I think worry makes you feel a lot older that we are.
‘  

Male EN: “Ok I
have to go and make some notes Ms Forks. It was nice to talk with you.”

As turns to leave Ms
Forks calls him 

Ms Forks: “Oh by the way.
They took my walking stick from me. Can you make sure I get it back, it
belonged to my Mother “

Male EN “I will. Why
did they take your walking stick?”

 : Ms Forks:
‘Because I hit the doctor with it one day. “

Male EN: ‘Did you
really?”         

: Ms Forks “Yes I did
but I’m smart. I hit him where it won’t show. “

Male EN: “Now where
did you learn that. “

Ms Forks: “As I told you,
it was my Mother’s walking stick and I hit the doctor on the B, U, and M.
“

Male EN: “If I get you
the walking stick you must promise not to hit anyone else with it Ms Forks. ‘

Ms Forks “I promise I
will as long as I remember to keep my promise,”‘ 

Male EN:’ Ok then I’ll
bring you the walking stick later. “

Ms Forks: The things
about getting old are we loose our memory. So it’s possible I might forget what
it was I promised you. “

Male EN: “That’s a
good excuse Ms Forks. I must remember that so I can use that when I get old. Talk
to you later, Bye”

Ms Forks “Thank you
for helping me feel better. Bye “.

The End

Outline to the play

 

Main Topic:  A Nurses
Response to Conflict

Title:  The Edge of
Forks Tongue

Aim:  The purpose of
this presentation is to highlight the importance of proper communication
skills. Some of the other issues in focus are;

           
Cause of Alarm: As a result of Ms. Forks having to wear glasses to read, the
fact that being left the wrong medication could have been very serious if it
had not been noticed by the EN on duty.

 

           
Duty of Care:  This fact that Ms. Forks has been told she has to leave
because the hospital needs the room for someone is very frustrating and she
feels a lack of care by the health professionals and is in a vulnerable
situation with some of the follow up procedures she has to go through.

 

           
Other Pathways:  Presenting other solutions for Ms. Forks such as
ambulance transport or community transport to get her from A to b with her
follow up outpatient procedures and doctors’ visits that may present a threat
of risk to her with her mobility problems. Provision of information CT scans,
fasting if needed for her blood tests and of an axis of comfort to ease her
worries that would become a positive meaning to justify an end to her
frustration.

 

Conclusion:

           
Extending Good Communication

 

With our ageing
population our health care facilities are always busy.  In addition,
finding a hospital bed has become an issue.  As a result, patients may be
discharged too soon in order to accommodate for someone else who is in need of
a bed. Furthermore, the patient who was discharged too soon may feel as if no
one is listening to or understanding their current needs.  Counting costs
and finding funding for extra beds could provide a solution that would bring to
an end the frustration of people like Ms. Forks, who feel as if their needs
have been neglected by the health service.

Further
Recommendations

           
An Introduction of New Communication Strategies

When it comes to
providing care for our elderly, sick and injured, new reviews into
communication between patients and health care providers need to be implemented
to address those who feel their needs have not been responded to whilst they
were in hospital.  This would build a better framework to assess the areas
in greatest need with a view to providing more support for patients who have
left hospital before they were recovered.  The Government and Taxpayers
should never count the cost when it comes to providing care for the elderly,
sick and injured in our community.

 

           
Provision of training and extra staff

The establishment of
new training programs with an outcome of more jobs into the health service to
alleviate the low numbers of nursing staff at present trying to cope with an
ever growing demand of patients and diverse health problems.

By Paul McCann