To be horrified and "bugged" by this - ICU

[chorltonandthewheelies]

My little boy has been in our local children's hospital in ICU for almost 7 weeks now. The staff have been fantastic and he receives an outstandingly high level of care, and I couldn't fault the cleanliness of staff or the ward.

But last night when visiting a huge, and I mean really huge cockroach fell from the ceiling onto his bed !! I think the nursing staff were as horrified as us, and steps have already been taken to look at the issue, it fell through a heating vent in the ceiling. They immediately moved his bed to the other side of the ward.

But I keep getting the shivers thinking about it . I know bugs are part of everyday life but you dont expect them in ICU. Just glad we saw it land and it didnt settle down in his bed for the night

[WorraLiberty]

OMG that's awful

I hope your DS is better soon.

I would definitely chase that up and make sure it was dealt with successfully.

[scarletforya]

Oh my God. I would lose my living mind! Unfortunately, hospitals are big complicated buildings. The main thing is they are taking it seriously. I'm sure they are horrified themselves.

[somewherewest]

Eeeewwww!!!!! They are buggers to get rid of too.

[KeepTheChange]

Cockroaches are notoriously difficult to clear, and hospitals have many areas where the blighters can multiply. .

[iklboo]

Eeeww. Hope you DS gets well soon.

Years ago my grandad was knocking down a chimney breast in a house (he was a builder) and a whole nest of the feckers fell onto him . He said he felt dirty for ages.

[splashymcsplash]

Hopefully it is just a one off, and as it sounds like they are doing everything possible to remedy the situation, I don't think you really have cause for complaint.

I wish the best to your ds

[ImCoveredInBeeeees]

The staff WOULD have been as horrified as you!!

[halcyondays]

Yikes! Hope your ds gets better soon.

[PooPooInMyToes]

Ikiboo. Eeew!

Hope your son gets better soon op.

[Methe]

How awful for you :( I hope your little boy is better soon :)

My mums a nurse and I know cockroaches are a huge problem in the hospital she used to work at, she used to hear them scuttling about and go and stand on them! I've spent a fair amount of time in hospital and I've never even seen one.. I don't know if I should feel happy or hard done by!

[heliumballoons]

I would have been shocked. But not that there's cockroaches in a hospital. I got told once hospitals are really the only place in the UK you find them. (lived in Tenerife for years and not seeing one a day was an achievement!)

I would contact PALS. Explain you understand they excist in hospitals but are unhappy there's obviously some way they have got into the ventilation - the hospital should be investigating this.

I hope your little boy get's better soon.

[heliumballoons]

Methe Does your mum know standing on them is how they multiply?

[mrsnesbit]

OMG! Gross!
I work in ICU and once a year we close the dept completely for deep clean, servicing and checking every inch of the place...including the air con units.

Where i work it would be classed as a critical incident and infection control and the works dept would be crawling all over the place.
Full investigations would be carried out and the bed area would be closed until deemed sparkling by inf control!

This might be taking place behind the scenes you know...Not the kind of thing that would be ignored.

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

I first wanted to say that I hope your ds is out of ICU soon. I know how stressful and draining it can be. Lots of healing vibes are being sent your ds's way x

I would contact PALS and make a complaint that way.

We saw cockroaches metres away from an ICU door. I guess there a lot of people and everything that comes with habitation in a relatively small space.

[Methe]

They multiply by being stood on? Really? How does that work then?

[edam]

eek! Blimey, as if you don't have enough to cope with. Hope ds is MUCH better very soon.

The hospital should be taking this very seriously and acting immediately to tackle it. If you have the time and energy to check up, I would, but you may be busy enough with your ds.

Helium, I think whoever told you hospitals are the only place you find them was misinformed - I saw them pouring out of my local laundrette a few years back, and if you ever watch those programmes following environmental health officers around, you'll see a few.

[needsachange]

You get their eggs on the sole of your shoe and they then get transferred to other places!
I lived in Tenerife for years and they were everywhere, the worst was flying season tho yuck!

[Methe]

Eurghhhhhh!

[WaxyBean]

Ewww - that's horrible. Both times I had my DC in hospital, I saw a cockroach (different hospitals) and it still sends a shudder down my back!

[heliumballoons]

needsachange is right about how they multiply.

edam They didn't say the only place - just only a few places and they tended to be hospital basements!

[kazmus]

when you see the miles of ventilation shafts etc that run through hospital wards and corridors, it would be unreasonable to expect that some 'creatures' do not find their way into them and reappear where they are definately not wanted. It is how the hospitals deal with the cleaning that should be a priority. Even in the top hospitals problems can occur, and sometimes with the best intentions. When my daughter was in ICU, the cleaners were incredibly diligent (and wonderfully delightful to talk to) However, one day he was vacuumming the grill above her bed that was part of the air condtioning. I could see particles dropping down as he disturbed the surface over the end of her bed. The next day she had to have her lines changed in her legs as she had picked up an 'unusual' infection. I did mention the cleaning incident to the doctors, and wondered if some shield could be put around the ducts that could be rem0ved and cleaned away from the bedside, but don't know if anything came from it or if they are still using the same cleaning techniques.

[sashh]

All hospitals have cockroaches - you cannot get rid of the buggers.

Yes I was told - never stamp on one.

I have relatives in Australia - they cannot leave food out on the counter top - things like an opened loaf of bread because of the cockroaches.

BTW is anyone else feeling itchy reading / typing on this thred.