- Hello, Jeff - This article was posted on my message board
by one of the regular posters.
-
- As you know, I had been to a hospital ER and a walk-in
emergency clinic in June. I reported what I had seen during my visit and
brought up the fact that I did not see the doctor wash his hands between
patients. The doctor at the walk-in clinic went back and forth between
3 patients, one of whom had active, infective TB.
-
- How do we ever expect these hospitals and emergency clinics
to contain bird flu when it arrives? Should the Asian bird flu hit, I
believe that it will spread through hospitals...and our first responders
will be its first victims.
-
- Whenever I see news reports that call for education of
the public on diseases like Hepatitis C or other infectious diseases, I
always hope that the first to be educated about infection spread will be
those who run our hospitals and walk-in emergency clinics. On many occassions,
HCV or other infectious diseases are contracted right in the hospital.
-
- Patricia Doyle
-
- 'Appalling' Standards Of Superbug Hospital
-
- Scotland On Sunday
- 8-17-5
-
- A hospital with one of Scotland's worst MRSA rates has
been branded "appalling" after relatives of patients exposed
filthy conditions on the wards.
-
- Patients and their families have recorded a catalogue
of failures in hygiene and infection control at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen.
-
- Scotland on Sunday has already revealed the hospital
had one of the worst known MRSA rates in the country, with one in every
62 patients catching the bug last year.
-
- Latest figures show the rate has soared in 2005, with
30 more patients being infected in the first seven months of the year,
compared with 2004.
-
- Photographs taken inside the hospital by relatives of
patients reveal the shocking conditions that have led to the spread of
the superbug.
-
- They include single occupancy rooms, normally reserved
for isolating superbug victims from other patients to prevent the infection
spreading, being used to store chairs and bed padding, while MRSA patients
were left on open wards.
-
- The granddaughter of one patient who has contracted MRSA
while being treated at the hospital described the conditions on the wards
as "appalling". She asked not to be named for fear her grandmother's
care would be further affected by speaking out.
-
- She said: "My gran developed a sore from being in
bed but it took the staff eight days before they tested the wound for MRSA
after it started to turn black.
-
- "We also saw nurses attending to my gran and then
moving on to other patients without washing their hands properly with the
gels and soaps provided. They would just pass their hands under the tap."
-
- Robert Herbertson is suing NHS Grampian for GBP 100,000
after falling ill with MRSA at the hospital. The 63-year-old claims poor
conditions there led to the infection which has caused long-term damage
to his health.
-
- He said: "When I was moved from one room to another
they would not clean the room properly afterwards and put another patient
straight in there. How is that going to stop MRSA spreading to other patients?"
-
- The list of hygiene failures comes after Woodend Hospital
was identified as having the worst MRSA rate in Scotland using data obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act.
-
- They revealed it has a rate almost four times the Scottish
average with 91 recorded cases out of 5,645 patients last year.
-
- Latest figures reveal there have already been 121 patients
infected with the bug at Woodend this year.
-
- Experts agree that high standards of hygiene and isolating
patients infected with MRSA are the best ways of tackling the bacteria.
-
- Last night, health minister Andy Kerr demanded that the
hospital takes immediate action to improve infection control. He said:
"If this is true, it is completely unacceptable.
-
- "We take the issue of tackling healthcare associated
infection very seriously and this is why we have invested GBP 15m in a
comprehensive infection control campaign."
-
- Aberdeen SNP MSP Richard Lochhead added: "Although
I appreciate the pressure and conditions staff at Woodend Hospital are
required to work under, patient safety has to be the top priority."
-
- NHS Grampian is now believed to be facing a string of
legal actions over conditions at Woodend from the relatives of patients.
-
- Tony Fields, from MRSA Support, said: "This is depressingly
typical of what is happening in hospitals all over the country. This kind
of poor infection control is outrageous."
-
- A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian defended the hospital's
hygiene standards but urged patients with complaints to notify staff immediately.
She said: "Woodend Hospital does not have designated isolation rooms.
Single rooms are often used when available and if appropriate."
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?
Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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