Hospital and cleanliness - or the lack thereof

[WillowTheWhisp]

So in the case of somebody doing a 'whoopsy' in the shower, or having the runs all over the floor (both of which were reported by patients, two different wards, two different floors) who should have cleaned up that mess?

Incidentally I did send a written complaint and will let you know if and when I receive a reply what it says.

[Margaret Pilkington]

The problem arises when the cleaners do not have set places of work......when they are shuffled from one deparment to another.....they have no feeling of allegaince to the place they are working. You may say 'yes, but they all work for the same NHS Trust'......and they do, but there are some cleaners whoclean as if their life depended on it, and do a fine job...they have days off and find that someone has been doing their work half-heartedly, and it must demoralise them.
On the unit where I worked, we had two of the best cleaners ever. They pulled beds out every day to clean behind them...ledges and sills were damp dusted......they had a cleaning schedule which they both followed so there was continuity.......and they were invaluable members of our ward team....they knew that if one of them had days off the work would still be done to the same exacting standard and the schedule would be followed.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I'm afraid that it would have been the nursing staff who would have to clean up that kind of spillage/mess...the same goes for blood, urine, or vomitus.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I lost count of the number of times I cleaned poo out of the bidets......not a nice job, but it has to be done.
And some patients would blow their nose on the bed linen....and chuck their hair combings onto the floor.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by polly

Did Florence Nightingale have cleaners?

I would hope we've gone forwards instead of backwards since then. Just been watching report on TV about the NHS. I don't like the idea of league tables of deaths. I mean some illnesses are terminal and no-one can change that. If one hospital gets more than it's fair share of terminally ill patients should they lose out on funding because of that? The ones with more survivors get more funding. Silly stupid idea. No wonder people get demoralised.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I'm afraid that it would have been the nursing staff who would have to clean up that kind of spillage/mess...the same goes for blood, urine, or vomitus.

But it was left there for HOURS with other patients having to use the same toilet. Is this because there is a shortage of staff? If one of my kids made such a mess in our bathroom my #1 priority would be to clean it up.

[emamum]

Originally Posted by polly

Did Florence Nightingale have cleaners?

Did Florence Nightingale work for the understaffed and overworked NHS?

[WillowTheWhisp]

It was worse in her day and they didn't have an NHS. The NHS shouldn't be so overworked that they haven't time to keep the wards and toilets clean from the most germy stuff. Fluff and dust is one thing but mold and pooh and syringes are quite a different and nastier thing.

[emamum]

the way it is atm is that the nursing staff have too much work to do already without them having to clean as well........

[Margaret Pilkington]

In the days of Florence (Nightingale) most of the cleaning was done by nurses...in fact when I first started nursing, the more junior you were, the more cleaning tasks you did.
There was never a time when you had nothing to do......Sister would send you to the sluice with a tin of chemico to shine the stainless steel bedpans, or tidy the linen cupboard, or wash down all the bed tables(which were cleaned after the discharge of every patient anyway).

[Margaret Pilkington]

Willow it should have been a number 1 priority...and until it had been thoroughly cleaned, there should have been a notice on the door stopping other patients from using it.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Well neither were - they were left and had to be used, in that condition, by other patients for a considerable length of time. And yet people get the 'ump that I complained about it?????

[polly]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

In the days of Florence (Nightingale) most of the cleaning was done by nurses...in fact when I first started nursing, the more junior you were, the more cleaning tasks you did.
There was never a time when you had nothing to do......Sister would send you to the sluice with a tin of chemico to shine the stainless steel bedpans, or tidy the linen cupboard, or wash down all the bed tables(which were cleaned after the discharge of every patient anyway).

That is what I thought. so it would seem that in her day cleaning was given more of a priority?That is my interpretation anyway

[emamum]

wasnt it florence nightingale that decided hospitals needed to be clean and cleanliness would stop the spreading of infections?

[WillowTheWhisp]

But we are supposed to have advanced since then.