Friday, October 19, 2007

Forget flowers, bring bleach to hospital bedside - Telegraph

Forget flowers, bring bleach to hospital bedside - Telegraph

The writer of this piece in the Telegraph has some very timely advice regarding what can be done to bring the rise in infections in hospitals under control. It seems that a good starting place  is the use of bleach. She is a doctor who has experience in infection control. Dr. Jane makes some very interesting observations regarding the cleanliness of the wards in hospitals and why this issue has not been brought under control. It seems that the NHS are not using ward staff for the cleaning jobs, but they are paying contractors who have no real knowledge regarding the issue of bugs and cleanliness.

She points out that the microbiology departments of the hospitals are under-utilized even though there is a growing problem with the superbugs. The spores that cause the infection are killed by household bleach, or at least the hospital grade bleach. Why are the cleaners not using these products? She points out that she had a stay at the University Hospital and she was appalled over the cleaning standards, and how visitors are allowed onto the wards when the floors are still wet, allowing more bugs to remain in the ward.

It sounds like this problem can be controlled, but there has to be a return to the old standards of cleanliness. If the UK continues with the underfunding of its hospital system then the situation will only get worse. Perhaps this is a sign that socialized medicine is in melt-down.




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