DIRTY NHS HOSPITALS 'NOT SAFE FOR THE ELDERLY'
A leading public health chief yesterday branded NHS hospitals “dangerous places” for the elderly.
He issued a stark warning that pensioners treated in large hospitals run a high risk of being killed by the MRSA superbug.
Claiming that many hospital staff are lax over hygiene, he condemned Britons for being dirty, with health workers having the same poor standards as the rest of the nation.
Professor John Ashton, North-West Regional Directorof Public Health, said that doctors and nurses shirk soap and water, giving rise to deaths from MRSA.
He said: “A lot of the people affected are elderly, frail people in their 70s, 80s and 90s. At these ages their immune system is not working as well as it should. I would say hospitals are by no means safe places for elderly people.
As a culture we are not good at personal hygiene. Forty per cent of us don’t bother to wash our hands after using the toilet.
“Hospital doctors and nurses are drawn from the communities they serve, so it is no surprise they show exactly the same poor behaviour.”
Professor Ashton added:
“Thirty per cent of health staff don’t wash their hands enough. On a typical shift it should be around 140 times a day.
“Add to that the fact that large hospitals have poor cleaning programmes. In the old days a cleaner was responsible for one particular set of wards and she would ensure it was spic and span.
“Now, with privatised cleaning services, there are large numbers of temporary staff who have no loyalty to a ward or hospital. Some even have restrictions on the amount of cleaning products they can use under the terms of their company’s contract.”
Is the Professor being unfair to hospital staff?
What is your experience?
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