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| Towel used to clean patient's bed |
The room is lovely.
An oversized couch, a recliner and another high back chair. There is
plenty of shelf space in the single occupancy room and downstairs a cafeteria
that is inexpensive and open until 1:00 AM.
In most cases staff are friendly and accommodating offering me coffee,
blankets and comfort items. I can use
the patient’s bathroom, ask questions and am accepted as part of the patient’s
team – until I asked the first nurse who walked in the door to please wash her
hands. She grudgingly did so but also
told me that it dries her hands if she does it too often and she did before she
walked in the room. “I didn’t fly all these miles here to have
this patient contract an infection” I told her jokingly. She used the gel in front of me. I also requested early on, that the patient
reviews all medications that she gets. The
patient agreed that the “order” came from her and not me. Word may have traveled since others who have
come into the room have scrubbed what seemed to be up to their armpits. Some don’t.
When one tech came in and I asked him to wash, he told me
that the antibacterial gel is better. I
told him that antibacterial gel does not get rid of c-diff infection. His response “we don’t have c-diff in our
hospital”.
Before the patient arrived from surgery and after I watched
the tail end of the staff clean her room.
I went in, with the hospitals own antibacterial wipes and with my gloved
hands wiped down the side rails of the bed.
With the patient’s 2 friends watching, as I explained to them what and
why I was doing that, the photo below is the dirt that came off just around the
bed area.
I continued to wipe down the door knobs and the doors,
remote control, call bell, sink and tray table.
Anything someone might touch including the marker that is used to write
the nurses name on the white board.
Since I got into the room before the patient, I was able to wipe down
the IV pole, screens that are touched to set alarms and the computer keyboard
and mouse next to the bed. All came up
dusty if not dirty.
This patient, who has open wounds from major surgery is susceptible
to infection at many different points. Though
everyone is friendly and accommodating, I just can’t help but not feel this
patient is still lacking some basic safe care that is obviously not consistent to
everyone who works here.
Following are some links about C-diff
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