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Grrrr...

K

kegstore

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Bristol, UK
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Unnecessary rudeness, and any PC
I think I'm becoming cranky in my old (!) age. It's all downhill now...

Visited the hospital this afternoon to collect some goodies from my DSN. Stopped at the main entrance to disinfect my hands as I always do, with the dispensers provided (and clearly signposted). Someone who obviously knew better just walked straight past me without bothering to do the same. So I called out "Are you not going to clean your hands then?" No response. Further attempts to attract her attention were ignored, so I pretended to start a telephone conversation with hospital security, describing (loudly) what she was wearing and what she hadn't done. That got her attention: "Who the **** do you think you are?" etc etc etc But she went back to the dispenser! :o

Hospitals have a difficult enough job without imbeciles like this just ignoring sensible advice. When I was at the same hospital 2 years ago as an in-patient, there were countless occasions when family members refused to follow basic infection control precautions with a patient who had MRSA and gangrene, even when asked to do so by ward staff. No wonder hospitals in this country have such a bad reputation for acquired infections. We're not exactly helping them. :evil:

Rant over.
 
Hi kegstore,I agree with you 100% but there is a but....Some people are very allergic to that stuff and I am one of them!!My hands immediately break out and bleed.In my job this then constitutes an even bigger infection risk because of the broken skin.I do wash my hands before and after attending to patients however with normal hand wash.
 
I get wound up about this too but even more wound up when I see nurses not bothering. I once witnessed a nurse change the dressing on my aunt and then proceed to do the same with the lady's dressing in the next bed, wearing the same surgical gloves. I think I too made an overly loud comment about her behaviour but sadly some folks,think they are above being sensible. :shock:
 
T1 husband acted as a patient in some Consultants' exams last year. He had an open diabetic ulcer on his foot at the time. those future consultants didn't clean their hands between patients either. When He wrote to the consultant diabetician who organised the event, He was told they did so when leaving each patient. He didn't see one of them do it. That's the exam where the diabetic patients were given sandwiches for lunch.
 
This really infuriates me. I've had to go to those stupid meetings where you have to meet the people who live in the PCT. And one of them asked me if I washed my hands before surgery, and I gave them this look -> :shock:

Do I clean my hands BEFORE surgery? Stupid question. But yeah, if you ask a surgeon they'll give similar answers... A hospital acquired infection can ruin your surgery.

Anecdote (not funny, but aptly proves my point)

In the UK we don't have so much of a compensation culture, but a few years ago when I was back up in Leeds. I was working on the post-op ward. And an old woman was brought in after the removal of a brain tumour (Leeds General is a really well funded neurosurgery/neurology hospital). Anyway, she was going on fine until her son appeared. He was her only visitor in the two days before she died from bacterial encephalitis caused by a gram-negative bacteria which is rare. It's only found on 1/4000 people in the UK. Because it isn't adapted to live on the skin so is outcompeted.

Anyway, it turned out that the son was suing the hospital for this infection. He stood to make in the region of £30 000 or something ridiculous like that, until it was proven that he was the only person who had had contact with his mother in the hospital with that bacteria present on his skin.

And this is the kicker, it is killed by either washing it in warm soapy water, or using the alcohol rub in the hospital.
 
Shygirl.
Don't know what sort of Hospital's you use but here in the West Midlands you can't go through any doorway into a clinic or ward without being told to use the hand wash either verbally or by a sign.

Have noticed very few ignoring these instructions and I'm a frequent visitor to different areas. What does annoy me is seeing medical staff arriving from the Car Park in work clothing and then proceeding to enter 'clean' areas in the same clothes ? I thought that wasn't supposed to happen anymore ?

Ken.
 
At least one of Bristol's is always in a state of "infection control" (their description for when they have to close one or more wards), and that's the only time the dispensers appear at the main entrances. It hasn't occurred to them that if they were sited there permanently they might not have to close wards so often... :roll:
 
cugila said:
Shygirl.
Don't know what sort of Hospital's you use but here in the West Midlands you can't go through any doorway into a clinic or ward without being told to use the hand wash either verbally or by a sign.

Have noticed very few ignoring these instructions and I'm a frequent visitor to different areas. What does annoy me is seeing medical staff arriving from the Car Park in work clothing and then proceeding to enter 'clean' areas in the same clothes ? I thought that wasn't supposed to happen anymore ?

Ken.
Click to expand...

Ken's right. The hospital I work at hired an extra receptionist basically to tell people to wash their hands. I must admit that I'm guilty of walking through areas wearing my casual clothes, but it's only the maternity ward reception, and I wear scrubs after that anyway.

But periodically, there are bouts of sickness on a ward (usually the geriatric ward) and it gets closed, which is a pain.
 
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