Tragic effects of hospital hygiene

In it he praised the efforts of Sheffield hospitals in tackling superbugs. Perhaps he needs to go down to the wards themselves to actually see what is happening instead of making assumptions or listening to staff who are failing to cope with the problem for various reasons. The efforts to reduce the spread of infection he talks of in his letter aren’t good enough in some parts of the Trust.

My father caught, and died, of Clostridium Difficile in the Northern General Hospital in May this year. He was not isolated or the ward closed. For days he used the same facilities as other patients. His official diagnosis took nearly two weeks but we felt the staff knew he had the bug all along and that the bug was present in the ward. As a family we were not told what he had. At no time were we told it could be fatal. Everything was so casual. There was no rush to give him the life saving drugs he needed. We just had to watch my father deteriorate without any adequate care or sympathy.

Name and address supplied

I was in the Northern General Hospital in Vickers. During the early hours of the morning, they brought into our ward a drunk and laid him fully clothed on top of a bed. He was scruffy; he had a black bin bag on the floor, was noisy and we couldn’t sleep. He got up at 6.30am, went outside for a cigarette (we could see him) and then came back to lay on he bed, still fully clothed and dirty. The nurse called “Hey, your taxi’s here.” He left with his black bag BUT the bed was not changed!

So, Chris Welch, leave the comfort of your office and get around the wards.

Name and address supplied.