Do nursing staff not wash patients anymore or change sheets?

I had to stay in hospital for a week after I had my first and I'd say it depends on the staff. One midwife always tried to change my sheets but she was heavily pregnant herself! My husband had to insist she let him do it. Other staff basically ignored me.

Nonsense.

They don’t want to be managers. They want to be clinicians. And they are. They still change sheets and wash patients in every hospital I’ve worked in. It’s also very, very common to be summoned as a
dr to hear a family complaint that the patient hasn’t received xyz throughout admission.
approximately 90% of the time they have, just not in the relatively small (over 24 hours) period in which the family have been
present.

In your case OP is it that you’re doing the care instead? When my father was in hospital repeatedly I did his personal care, as I did at home. It was his, and my, preference. It wouldn’t occur to me to ask strangers to do what he and I were comfortable with. He would have disliked it very much. I assume the nurses realised this.

It was definitely a well established proper ward.

That’s one of my serious concerns about my hospital stays, @C152 - they take your regular meds away and then don’t let you have access to them (and certainly not at the correct times). For me, these have included blood pressure and thyroid medications that need to be taken daily, ‘going missing’.

I have had nurses and midwives repeatedly ignore doctor’s instructions on notes, and repeatedly fail to give treatments, set up drips, and follow protocols. I’ve been given food I wasn’t supposed to have; and at other times I’ve been denied food and water.

In one ward I was given more help and sympathy from the cleaner than the nurses.

The contempt shown by a few of them toward me and some older ladies on one particular ward was remarkable. I told the lead consultant all about it on my discharge day in front of them all, and ended up with an apology from some sort of ‘chief nurse’ who was a total wet blanket.

It shouldn’t be luck of the draw like this as to whether hospital care is adequate.

That is diabolical.
Absolutely make a complaint through PALS.
People need to complain through official routes more frequently imo.

I wasn't very impressed with Barnsley when an elderly family member was in and also had a poor experience with Calderdale with my son but I was very happy with his care once he was transferred to Leeds.

I would be extremely annoyed in this situation. Washing bathing, all aspects of personal care , is a fundamental aspect of nursing. Mainly this is usually carried out by hca's but many nurses just see it as their role too. When assisting with personal care it's a great opportunity to talk to patients, & vice versa. The patient may be worried about something and this is an ideal time to share any issues. Personal care is seen as a direct intervention that affects patients dignity, safety and recovery. Whether you are sat with your dd 24 hours a day, it isn't your responsibility. The staff could certainly ask your dd if she prefers you to care for her, but it should not be taken for granted, that you will do this for her. I am so disgusted you are having to ask for opinions, since nurses were required to have degrees , from what l have seen is a great decline in many things. Thats not saying all nurses, but there are some that feel basic care is something a hca can do & isn't their job, it certainly is their job. I would lodge a complaint with PALS, do not worry, they may treat your dd negatively if you do, believe me, it will be the reverse. I hope your dd makes a speedy recovery and is home very soon.

My FIL was recently bed bound in hospital and I had to keep asking for sheet changes/nappy changes/someone to wash him. It wasn’t great to be honest and I did wonder how long the patients without family were having to wait.
Also to those saying you should be doing it yourself.. If I was in your daughters position I would not want my mum/dad doing such personal care, I’d be mortified at the idea of them seeing me in the shower.

Sounds really distressing op, the nhs costs an awful lot of money for such a shitty experience for both staff and patients. I hope your dd recovers well and soon.

Barnsley General is a great hospital! I think because it’s quite a poor area still a nhs job is seen as good so better people will work there. TBH I’ve seen great care at several hospitals in Yorkshire over the years, can’t say the same where I live now sadly.

The last time I was in hospital the bathroom was used as storage. I could use the bathroom of the bays next door due to infection risk. I was told I could the men's bay bathroom but I didn't feel safe doing that. So no where to wash unless I wanted to strip wash at my bed which I didn't want to due to privacy and being perfectly mobile. Five days with no bathroom. It was chok a bloc with equipment so I doubt it was ever in use.

I let everyone know about this mess, including the cleaning team, as I was worried about it. It was still there, drying on over about half a mile of corridor, when I left 4 hours later.

Would you believe that cleaners are not allowed to touch body fluid spills? That’s something else we have to magically do with our other left feet. For some reason cleaners always have been protected more than frontline service staff in every job I’ve been in.

I am seriously thinking of going over to cleaning. Such an easier job for the wage.

Should add I mean no disrespect to the nhs cleaners who are busy, and keep us free of infection, but they do not have to deal with dementia patients.

I can remember when people used to grumble about how you’d need qualifications to be a cleaner. You do now.

My dad stunk when he came home he was filthy
my friend works for Patient transport and say the same patients discharged dirty

I was in hospital for a month and found it varied from ward to ward
one ward in our hospital is notorious for its lack of care

No, they don't. You're lucky if they remember to give you the medicine required to keep you alive. Occasionally a kind nurse may offer to change the sheet of child but, generally, they tell the parent where the sheet cupboard is and the parent has to do it. (And always shake the sheet out and examine before returning to the room - they're rarely washed properly and you'll go through at least half a dozen covered in blood stains and with some sort of physical crap - not just a stain - still on them.)

DP is in hospital every couple of months. He has always pissed himself on the way in and usually there too. He has never been either given a bed bath, nor allowed to shower (because he needs to be under supervision at all times). He has had clean sheets when they're covered with wee, but often not for many hours. Never changed for general filth or blood. He gets quite distressed about the piss a day or so in, as he regains consciousness fully - sometimes he has discharged against advice, just to wash and has been clear about his reasons.

Mind, they also often don't notice when he's having active seizures. So that concerns me more than the lack of hygiene. Last time, they missed 2 while I was shouting for help, because it took 6 people to pin down a screaming woman with dementia to stitch up her face and all the screaming meant noone heard.

It was the same with my late mother. We didn't get on, so I didn't visit very often, but I'd turn up once a week to give her a wash, as she couldn't do it herself and it wasn't done on her long stay surgical wards. I still recall the time her wound burst when I had taken her for a fag - she left a trail of blood and puss from the ground floor to her 4th floor ward, because the flow was unstoppable and huge. She had septicaemia and a variety of other fun, rare infections. And hepatitis... I let everyone know about this mess, including the cleaning team, as I was worried about it. It was still there, drying on over about half a mile of corridor, when I left 4 hours later.

ICU is clean, hygienic and good at looking after patients. Nowhere else is - even HDU was significantly worse, though better than most wards. DP wasn't ever cleaned himself on HDU in a week, but at least his bed was.

I hate hospitals.

I agree with you. I’ve been on the shitty end of this ‘care’ (and crappy attitude) too many times now in NHS hospitals.

It’s not even a recent phenomenon. I’ve experienced it over many decades.

Having said that, I’ve also been on the receiving end of some great medical care. But it’s so inconsistent, which isn’t conducive to making improvement and progressing out of the door to going home and freeing up a bed.

That's your choice though.

OP's daughter is seriously ill.

Her question is valid.

FGS she's got meningitis!
She's very poorly.

'advocate for herself'.

Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery 💐

Nursing a patient should mean caring for them humanely, as a kind carer would at home: ensuring they’re comfortable, helping with personal hygiene, changing bedding regularly, making sure they’re well-nourished and hydrated, helping them access fresh air, providing moral support and company, observing changes in their appearance or demeanour, which requires spending enough time with them.

This is a basic level of human care which should be provided, as an expectation, in a hospital.

If it can’t be, for whatever reason, at v least relatives should be informed and asked if they can provide this care. If they can, the healthcare staff should work together with the relative as a team.

IME ‘nurses’ now appear to be medical staff. They should really have a different title, e.g. ‘healthcare/medical workers’. This appears to have left a gap in genuine nursing, especially if no relative can fill this role.

The NHS appears to have many well-paid ‘managers’, who are unable to manage basic personal care.

I’m 36 and have been in hospital since Saturday with an infection in my spinal cord, I’m still able to walk so haven’t been washed but my sheets have been done every day x

My ds16 was in an orthopaedic ward for one night. A nurse (or possibly HCA) woke him around 7am and brought him a basin to wash. He was able wash himself but the nurse would definitely have helped if he couldn’t.
I think they might assume that you will do it. When my mum was in hospital before she died, I helped her to shower, toilet etc. Although, when I wasn’t there they did do it but she had to ask. That’s was pre-pandemic. What a shocking state the health service is in.
I hope your daughter makes a swift recovery

When I stay in hospital with my disabled daughter I do all her personal care, I’m not just going to sit there waiting for someone else to do it, and she prefers me to do it anyway. I do however build up a good relationship with staff, and they’re always helpful when I ask for help, or if I need something. They are so busy

I've spent a lot of time in hospital recently and the care has been excellent. The nurses tend to focus on more specialist medical tasks and HCA on changing beds etc. I was offered a bed change every day, I was also offered skin checks (which I didn't need as I was moving around and not bed bound) and those who couldn't wash themselves were bathed.

It's clear from this thread that experiences vary a lot but I can't fault anything at all about the care I've had over the last few months.

Well said
No one has issues with other hcp s such as physios / ot s ..having degrees

I'm so sorry you experienced a shitty attitude
Please put in a complaint
Sending 💐 and a big 🫂