Hospital infections

steeljack · 27-07-2007, 04:03

there have been one or two references in other threads about people going into Hospital and getting infections (MRSAs) came accross this article in todays NYT and thought it may be of interest to some
NY Times Advertisement

seems the link works ok although it says adverisement

lettie · 27-07-2007, 07:41

Thanks Steeljack, a few simple measures can help to cut infection rates but unfortunately, things aren't so simple on this side of the pond.

The government admits (grudgingly) in their document 'Winning Ways' (this is a strategy to cut health care acquired infections) that UK hospitals do not have enough private rooms. Bed cuts in many hospitals have led to a higher turnover of people, the beds in my unit are not empty for longer than 30 minutes. A quick clean with detergent then someone else is in it. It does not take a genius to figure out that cutting beds when we now have a higher patient turnover must have some effect on infection rates.

Disposing of equipment such as blood pressure cuffs may be an option in the USA where, I'm sure that the disposal and replacement of the equipment will be factored into the price of care. Here in the UK where care is free at the point of delivery, this would in all likelyhood, be a costly exercise.

People coming to some hospitals for certain operations are swabbed prior to admission. This does not apply to every operation, could you imagine if we swabbed everyone...... hospitals would not meet their targets and ops would be cancelled due to lack of private facilities.

To be honest, MRSA is not the greatest concern to most hospitals. We are all auditing things like handwashing on a fortnightly basis but MRSA is controllable. We are much more concerned about C Difficile at the moment, much more virulent, higher fatality rate, high recurrence rate after treatment, easier to spread due to explosive diarrhoea where the spores can spread throughout the room and the spores on hands cannot be killed by hand gels. C Diff is the one to worry about now and the major cause of this is the over prescription of antibiotics.

SPUGGIE J · 27-07-2007, 11:41

Falkirk Royan Infirmary was listed as one of the dirtiest in Scotland which they are denying. I think that sometimes the hospitals are that busy and short staffed that important procedures are not adhered to to the letter and that is when things go wrong. The govenment can say what it wants but needs to put its money were its mouth is and stop what money trusts have being wasted. As for the overprescribing of antibiotics we sowed the wind and are now reapping the wirlwind. So in short we are all to blame and unless we change our habits it will only get worse.

Margaret Pilkington · 27-07-2007, 12:11

In Oz where my sister works as a nurse......all surgical patients are given a special washing sponge to use in the bath or shower on the days before they come into hospital......they have very low rates of MRSA...but like the US there are far more single rooms...this must have an effect on infection rates.

MargaretR · 27-07-2007, 12:19

In 1980 I had -
(Wikepedia definition)
"Pseudomembranous colitis is an infection of the colon often, but not always, caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. Still, the expression "C. diff colitis" is used almost interchangeably with the more proper term of pseudomembranous colitis. The illness is characterized by offensive-smelling diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. It can be severe, causing toxic megacolon, or even fatal"

It was caused by an antibiotic named Lincomycin (now banned),prescribed by a doctor in Italy (for a sore throat). I became ill whilst driving through the Brenner pass on the home, and after consulting a doc in Bavaria and a further 2 days resting up in Switzerland, I ended up spending 3 days in a hospital in central France from where I was medically evacuated home.
The whole episode was traumatic in the extreme (though it did have it's humourous moments). On repatriation I spent 2 weeks in isolation at Park Lee hospital.
The long term effects are still with me to some extent. I had diarrheoa for 20 years! I eventually learned to control it to some extent by eating copious amounts of live yogurt daily. In the past year I have found my cure -- Kefir
Kefir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antibiotics kill off all the bacteria in the intestines (good and bad bacteria both). We need the good bacteria to maintain a healthy digestive system. Kefir supplies all the good bacteria better than yogurt, and some of Kefir good bacteria attack the bad stuff (yogurt doesnt).
When your digestive system is not functioning properly all sorts of nasty side effects happen - failure to absorb essential nutrients, overgrowth of candida, - which can cause damage to many of your vital organs.
Therefore I recommend that if you are due to be admitted to hospital where you are likely to be exposed to C-difficile that for several weeks beforehand you load you intestines with as much Kefir as you can drink, so loading up with the good bacteria which will combat it.
In USSR hospitals Kefir is in regular use for all inpatients.
Kefir can be produced easily and cheaply at home and costs only the price of the milk. The 'grains' grow during use, so I can divide my grain to give to you if you want to start producing it. - just PM me (1st come 1st served)

MargaretR · 11-10-2007, 13:36

I have resurrected this thread which is 3 months old because the subject is in the news again.
I repeat my offer of Kefir grains to anyone who wants to make their own probiotics very cheaply

BERNADETTE · 11-10-2007, 13:59

According to the Telegraph the MRSA bug has resulted in the neo-natal unit being closed since mid September.

WillowTheWhisp · 11-10-2007, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I have resurrected this thread which is 3 months old because the subject is in the news again.
I repeat my offer of Kefir grains to anyone who wants to make their own probiotics very cheaply

The Kefir is briliant - the only trouble is I need some new friends to give some to! It multiplies like I don't know what.

MargaretR · 11-10-2007, 15:13

You don't need to be ill to benefit from it
What Really Works 'The insider's guide to natural health'

BERNADETTE · 12-10-2007, 21:31

Anybody seen the story in tonights Telegraph? A young mum contracted MRSA from breast feeding her baby. She wasn't told till three weeks later that was what her baby had. This is bad and if MRSA is in the hospitals it shouldn't be hidden from the patients IMO.

SPUGGIE J · 12-10-2007, 21:48

We are to blame. Every little sniffle required us to demand pills of the Doctor, who was daft enough to give them. Bugs evolve at such a rate that in a generation we have super bugs that stick 2 fingers up at antibiotics and other counter measures. By the time they stop this lot the next one will be more potent and will kill more. Dosnt matter what a hospital does they will never be rid of em.

Hospitals need to find an efficient way to deal with these problems and not on the cheap to "stay within budget" as per norm. As for the MRSA carry on with the mother and child I wonder if some pansy manager decided not to tell and hope it would not come to light.

jambutty · 12-10-2007, 23:21

There is a simple answer to blood pressure cuffs.

Wrap a couple of layers of cling film around the arm first. Cling film is cheap and sterile and now comes in easy use dispensers.

But it isn’t only hospitals. Doctors’ surgeries also take patients’ blood pressure, as do Paramedics once they get you in the ambulance.

It’s a fat load of use having a sterile, infection free hospital if you pick up a bug in the ambulance whilst being taken there.

The stretcher trolley or chair isn’t swabbed down unless it has been soiled in some way by a patient. The same blanket is used again and again during the day unless it got soiled.

Ber999T · 13-10-2007, 04:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

There is a simple answer to blood pressure cuffs.

Wrap a couple of layers of cling film around the arm first. Cling film is cheap and sterile and now comes in easy use dispensers.

But it isn’t only hospitals. Doctors’ surgeries also take patients’ blood pressure, as do Paramedics once they get you in the ambulance.

It’s a fat load of use having a sterile, infection free hospital if you pick up a bug in the ambulance whilst being taken there.

The stretcher trolley or chair isn’t swabbed down unless it has been soiled in some way by a patient. The same blanket is used again and again during the day unless it got soiled.

JB I can say that the sheets and blankets are now used once and changed after each patient as we have to do this to maintain infection control that have been put in place to help combat the spread of MRSA. You can't use cling film as it will give a false reading because it will be putting pressure over the artery your using.

lettie · 13-10-2007, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Anybody seen the story in tonights Telegraph? A young mum contracted MRSA from breast feeding her baby. She wasn't told till three weeks later that was what her baby had. This is bad and if MRSA is in the hospitals it shouldn't be hidden from the patients IMO.

Lol.... Don't believe everything you read in the telegraph, it has headlines to sell papers and not necessarily tell the truth.

BERNADETTE · 13-10-2007, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by lettie

Lol.... Don't believe everything you read in the telegraph, it has headlines to sell papers and not necessarily tell the truth.

Okay but I think if everybody used the alchohol for their hands when entering and leaving different areas it could help. I am not saying it would get rid of the problem but it could help to prevent it spreading IMO.