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Concern about hygiene of hospital visitors at Macclesfield

Posted By Wanderer995

"Concern about hygiene of hospital visitors at Macclesfield"

About: Macclesfield District General Hospital

(as the patient),

I had cancer and went to Macclesfield hospital to have a tumour removed. I have no complaints at all about the treatment I received. The people who cared for me did a good job. The hospital seemed very clean. I had marvelous care.

However, I contracted MRSA during my stay. As I said, the hospital was very clean. In my opinion, the problem is the visitors, they are just not clean at all. The hospital is too lax with visitors, allowing them to arrive at anytime and sit anywhere. In my view the root of the cleanliness problem is the visitors.

Years ago there was a matron on wards who was very strict and kept visitors in line. Now people do anything they want; they stay all day, with no visiting hours. I think this is not on at all.

Some of the people who come to visit are filthy, and they are allowed to bring anything into that hospital, without using cleaning gel. Things should be stricter, with visitors made to wash their hands. Everything should be very very clean, and the only thing preventing this is the visitors.

Many thanks to all the staff on ward 1, particularly Mr Khan, my remarkable consultant.

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Responses

Response from 16 years ago

Submitted on 29/11/2007 at 09:07

Thank you for your kind comments regarding the treatment and care you received during your stay on Ward 1 at Macclesfield District General Hospital. We are very sorry that you feel the hospital is too lax with visitors regarding their standards of cleanliness.

The Trust endeavours to communicate effectively with patients and their carers because, as you quite rightly say, the public have a key role alongside staff in preventing the spread of infection. The Infection Control Team request that the ward staff give information leaflets to patients who are identified with MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C-diff). If patients or relatives require further information there is a contact number on the back of the leaflet or the ward staff can contact a member of the team to arrange for a meeting to discuss any concerns or provide further information. There is also now a separate information leaflet for visitors.

The Infection Control Team also now undertake ward rounds each morning to review which patients require to be nursed in a side room. All patients who have been identified as having active watery diarrhoea are nursed in side rooms, as far as is practical. MRSA positive patients are also nursed in side rooms or in a specified bay with patients who are MRSA positive.

As a hospital we work to the National Cleanliness Standards 2007 and as part of East Cheshire Trust’s commitment to improving hospital cleanliness, there is a rolling programme of deep cleaning. Enhanced cleaning is also required in side rooms that have infection control restrictions and this involves the domestic staff changing from the micro-fibre cleaning system to a mop and bucket system and using the appropriate disinfection. If a patient is know to have C-diff. the commode that is being used by that patient is cleaned with a hypochlorite solution (bleach).

In addition, as part of the Trust’s commitment to infection control, we have also been rolling out a programme of changing flooring from carpets to vinyl.

The hospital participates in the national ‘Clean your Hands’ campaign, hand wash basins have been installed at the entrance to every ward to highlight to staff and visitors the importance of washing your hands.

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