Can anyone tell me why it seems universal that when you visit a fragile and elderly person in hospital or nursing home , you walk past the notice that warns you that C Diff is a threat in the ward and to please remember to use the handwash , only to find the patient you visit has thick brown crud (yes its that) under all their long uncut nails, visit after visit and on-one seems to give a damn?
And another thing. Why is it acceptable for elderly semi mobile patients in some hospitals to have to put up with being 'washed' with just baby wipes , only having baths/shower every 3/4 days or so? Older and infirm people have more spills and accidents than the average person,are less able to physically manage 'personal' care, and surely NEED to feel properly clean to help preserve their dignity? Rant over. Pointless rant I know as cutbacks have to be applied to situations like this as oppose to life saving stuff but for Gods sake I wish the Govt would send in ruthless old fashioned time and motion people to assess where the wasted time and resources are , highlight them publicly , and get them eliminated .

There's many as story Venice, and I believe many hospitals expect family to perform the services more and more. Too bad if the elderly ladies husband is 88yrs and unable to do much for anyone. I doubt most would even be given a bath, as the time it takes to give a bath is removing valuable staff from other areas.
Time and motions would probably help but also would an answer to why newspapers are allowed to be taken into hospital wards, when paper carries plenty of germs. Alder Hey Children's Hospital Critically ill wards, hand wash, clean aprons and gloves every time you enter the isolation ward but you can take newspapers or magazines in with you. I did mention it to the staff, and they had never heard of the possibility of cross contamination with paper!
Old fashioned common sense no longer prevails.Someone who went into the Liverpool Royal for 4 weeks with pneumonia, was sent home with MRSA, only to be readmitted, and 5 weeks later he's still there.
With basic, precautionary rules from yesteryear, I'm sure they could save a huge amount on resources, including time.

all of a sudden, something new ??? Don't think so.
Dec. 2011.
http://blog.chron.com/medblog/2011/12/paper-can-be-potent-carrier-of-hospital-germs-study-says/

Quote:
My mother has been convinced for most of my life that paper carries germs. Research confirmed years ago that everything from feces to cocaine residue hitchhikes on paper money and we already knew that medical records can harbor MRSA, so new findings released in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Nursing should come as no surprise.

My ex father-in law, has been in hospital < Arrowe and Clatterbridge stroke unit >. and now ,nursing home for the past 12 months, and says they are all obsessed with WATER, never had so many bath's ...Seriously

You're right Granny , some old fashioned common sense should prevail. Regarding paper, my mother believed the same thing. When I was young and had any kind of catchable bug, she refused to allow me to borrow books or any kind of toys etc , and my own were sprayed with disinfectant once I was better and draped on a radiator .She was super hygiene concious - public toilets were a no no for me unless it was a desperate situation , the ideal expectation was for me to 'hover' or if impossible then an elaborate performance was carried out involving carefully draping toilet paper in a V either side of the seat, and a piece acrossways completing the cover up! I cant bring myself to break the habit even these days lol.

Thats good to hear miss, just shows its possible. Mind you I found the stroke unit at Clatterbridge just brilliant for most things . Sadly though , the 'water ' thing has not been good in my experience in either Arrow or Countess or the nursing homes Im familiar with. Lord knows how we would get on top of Ebola if it happened in those places, theyd certainly have to smarten up their ideas.