EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance MRSA infection

Hi Louis, Can the Theatre Gods queue in the Canteen, in their Blues/Greens for Bacon Butties in your neck of the woods then ???

Bioman , i also have been in the nhs ten years and are amazzed how the routine scrubbing and ward closures no longer appear to happen as they used to. I understand it will not stop MRSA , but it would not make it or any problem worse (apart from cash flow).

Why are our hospitals not designed en-suite like mainland europe. Is it any wonder we have one of the highest rates in europe. If you've ever been unfortunate enough to be admitted into hospital im sure you know what i mean.

MRSA is not the only transmitted illness curently on the rise. The old war-time favorite of scabbies is coming back, as i found out recently, it is very common in elderly medicine and not particulary pleasant.

Tracy

Don't forget TB ! That's been on the up for several years and a BBC programme some time ago blamed the increase squarely on overcrowding.

I can't remember the figure, but a very high percentage of people are carrying the MRSA bug around on their skin - or up their noses - and suffer no ill effects, untill they have surgery. An even higher percentage of us are carrying the non-resistant form, which apparently dissapears after a few days / weeks.

A few months ago I was asked by two nurses if the plastic aprons, gloves, masks and caps they were wearing were suitable protection from a confirmed MRSA carrying patient who was coming into their department for a scan. I said that I thought it was OK - except that they still had their uniforms on underneath.

They hit me ! !

Hi Tracy

I had almost forgotten about routine ward closures where nurses and cleaners worked hand in hand to scrub the walls, surfaces and equipment. I seem to remember our Infection Control Team also insisted on Estates painting the walls after they had been scrubed clean. I suppose in those days cleaning staff were under the control of Trusts and not contractors who are hell bent on employing staff on as little as possible and trying to get them to clean more areas than is humanly possible.

Roy - i did know about this as my father is a community dialysis patient and is regularly swabbed. MRSA affects more than just hospitalised patients.

Bioman - i also remeber waiting for the swabs of the walls to come back clean, before the area could be used again. Staff were also reguarly swabbed. Has anyone out there ever been tested?

Hi Tracy, Whilst a Biomed in the Sultanate of Oman in 1990, we were all tested by swabs in the mouth and ears.This was after all the cleaning,painting etc and petri dishes left out to check the cleaned areas.We were all found negative and the source was never traced.The ITU re-opened after all the precautions described.
Have a Good Weekend. Tony.

Tony unfortunatly it is true
Whilst in the UK the trust I was employed at had their first real outbreak in 97, all hell broke lose. Even the local Infection Control bod arrested us all and took our palm prints for analysis. I think they are too relaxed now. Typical hey. From one extreme to the other.

LIII

Hi Louis, Too true my dear chap too true.!!
However as another Dear Friend Geoff Hannis reports earlier in the thread, good old soap and water is all that is needed to remove the bacteria from the skin !!
Perhaps the Manufacturers of Vancomycin are keeping quite on that one !!
Mah, Salamah. Tony

Meanwhile the Battle of the Bugs continues as the little blighters doggedly continue on their remorseless march to conquer the world. Speaking of which, what can our overseas correspondents report regarding this issue? Surely it's not a phenomenon restricted only to British NHS hospitals?

Long Live Low-Life, indeed!

Wow - talk about continuing a long lost thread. 3 years have passed since the last posting. :]

Is this you recycling Geoff? lol