Do nursing staff not wash patients anymore or change sheets?

Afraid that when I was in the stroke ward in the second hospital, no one changed my sheets or helped me wash in 4/5 days. I was in a room right by the nursing station where they spent plenty of time sitting around chatting about their Christmases & new years., partners & kids etc. I don't object to that at all, but I do object to being ignored when I was buzzing for help to get to the toilet, one morning I had been asking for 2 hours. In the end another patients visitor helped me.

the first hospital changed the sheets daily, but also weren't great at helping with washing. They'd plonk the bowl of water on the bedside table, haphazardly pull the curtain around & go. Getting help took a long time each day. Despite them knowing I could not do it myself.

no idea what they were talking about as they chatted in Nepalese, but they were not rushing about.

& don't even get me started on the drugs rounds...let's just say it was very lucky I wasn't cognitively impaired.

the senior nurses/ward managers acted like patients were just a bloody inconvenience.

both hospitals were a dreadful experience, I didn't mind being transferred to the second one as it's a smaller hospital, with less facilities for new stroke arrivals, so I assumed they'd be better with after care & rehab. I was wrong.

When my then 8 year old was in intensive care, they did ''cares'' every 4 hours which included a wash and bed change if necessary but also included wiping his eyes and wetting his mouth at first as he was sedated and on a ventilator. He was there for 7 weeks and at first they honestly couldn't do much because he was so unstable, was that at all the case for your son when he first arrived? If not, that is completely unacceptable.

I hope he's doing well now. Having a child in intensive care is beyond frightening, wouldn't wish it on anyone. xx

Ward clerks aren’t qualified to do clinical admin. They’ll do general admin but care plans etc must be done by the qualified nurse

Shocking! Would definitely be contacting PALS about that!

My 14 year old was in icu for 2 weeks last year after an accident. He had to lie flat and couldn't do anything for himself.
He came into hospital in muddy clothes and covered in mud.
I couldn't get there until the next day (his dad was there). When I got there he was still covered in mud and bed sheets covered in mud.
I suggested to them maybe he should have a bed wash and be changed into a gown and they seemed surprised I asked. I couldn't do it myself as 1. I am disabled and walk with crutches and 2. Hes a big lad and it required 3 people to do.
I was really surprised at this as we were on icu with some really poorly children. I was concerned about infection control.
He also had no way of being able to get to the toilet but noone provided anything for him to use. Again had to ask. They gave cardboard urinal which he couldn't use as couldn't move arms or body. Eventually had to put a nappy on him. He dealt with all this so well but imagine a 14 year old lad having to have his nappy changed by his mum. I really wasnt impressed by the whole set up as felt like even his most basic needs weren't being met. We also couldn't stay with him overnight (not allowed on icu). We had to syay in Ronald mcdonald house. He was completely immobile during this time and so vulnerable

Apologies I missed that part.
I work with a great team but unfortunately there are staff there just for a wage and will do the bare minimum they can get away with.
Definitely take it higher op esp if that is the ward sisters attitude.

Discharge takes forever. For us, it was mainly waiting for the pharmacy to get my sons meds sorted and then we also had to wait for the discharge letter.

They will have been desperate for the bed but until the doctors have done your letter and pharmacy dispensed your meds (if needed) you can’t go anywhere.

Some RN’s do discharge letters themselves on some wards, this adds to the huge amount of admin they already do (care plans twice a day minimum for a LD, referrals, meds rounds x3 per LD, admission/transfers, last offices) when you take that into account it’s no surprise they’re stuck at a computer.

The HCAs are the eyes and ears of modern wards, they’re the ones toileting, washing, feeding but being on minimum wage you can see why there is a staffing crisis, who wants to be caring for a dying patient on Xmas Eve when you can get paid the same to work in tescos without the unsocial hours, emotional challenges and get 20% off your shopping!

That said it’s no excuse for poor care and a ward is only as good as its management structure so if you’re getting nothing from the ward sister go to pals, it’s not good enough.

for me it was waiting for a prescription to be sent up so I could be discharged. I ended up getting the prescription and walking to the chemist myself as it was quicker
I did get told “we probably wouldn’t have said blood thinners if we knew you were marching out of here the day after an 8hr op”

@henlake7 So please dont judge us too harshly for being attached to a computer screen. We dont have a choice these days!😆

Hmmm. That explains a lot.
I was in hossy for a minor procedure and was due to be discharged the next day but it took until 4.pm to discharge me !
They had to book lunch for me (it was very nice actually)
I would have thought they would have wanted the bed for another person ?

Sadly there is literally nothing done these days that isnt input into a computer system. Drug rounds, care rounds, nursing notes, fluid charts, diet charts, skin care, wound care, etc, etc, etc.....
Sometimes it feels like you spend more time doing clerical stuff then actually nursing!
Even the HCAs will be spending a huge part of their time documenting who they washed, turned, who pooped, etc.

So please dont judge us too harshly for being attached to a computer screen. We dont have a choice these days!😆

@henlake7 (also as a technophobe it really bugs me when people complain about nurses being sat in front of the computer all the time....trust me, nobody hates being stuck in front of a computer more then I do! Id rather be actually caring for people then tapping away on a keyboard!).

I thought they had Ward Clerks to do that clerical work? Or what we used to call "Dicks" (Data Input Clarks !)

There's no need to go in all guns blazing, speak to PALS, or any of the rest of similar advice just yet, go and ask calmly if your daughter could get a wash and change of bedding. If not happy with the response ask to speak to the nurse in charge or the ward manager.

Only problem is that OP did that and got a “shitty response” from the nurse she spoke to. A complaint seems justified

Night nurse here and I know in the morning we tend to prioritise elderly bed bound patients, esp those without relatives visiting for washing.
With a young, previously healthy patient (esp if they have relatives with them) there might have been an assumption that the relative was helping them or they could manage themselves.
I would say to anybody who is a relative or patient though dont be afraid to ask for things....even multiple times. Sometimes staff are rushed off their feet, sometimes they might genuinely forget.

(also as a technophobe it really bugs me when people complain about nurses being sat in front of the computer all the time....trust me, nobody hates being stuck in front of a computer more then I do! Id rather be actually caring for people then tapping away on a keyboard!).

They were so helpful. Especially when he was his most unwell.

He was in hospital for a very long 10 months in 2024-2025 but is doing well now thanks.

@Kirbert2 thank you. It’s mind boggling how it must work and I did wonder about the water aspect of it.

💐I hope your son’s doing well now.

We used them for my son's hair before he was well enough to take him for showers and they are really good. You leave it on their head for a certain amount of time and when you take it off, their hair is washed! I never found his hair to be soaking wet after either which was more comfortable for him, it was just damp.

Of course, my point was I wouldn't personally have been able to wash ALL of my patients.
In nursing, you have to be able to prioritise patients and delegate appropriately. If you have ten patients and one of them is newsing a 9, that is where your focus needs to be. Similarly, if you have five patients all due IVABs at 0800am, you need to be prepping them and then checking/ administering with a second nurse. No one would have appreciated their medication being over an hour late because I'd been busy washing patients, when washing is something I could easily have delegated. The nurse should (of course) make sure that all their allocated patients who need assistance have received it. But that doesn't mean trying to do everything yourself. Sometimes it's just necessary for ward staff to work according to their skill set.

Our nurses help with washes in the morning before they start the drug round.
Every patient on my ward gets a daily wash, whether that be a basin, a bath or a shower. Not everyone can get a bath or shower every day, we just don't have the time.
Sheets will be changed every other day unless requiring a change (stained or sweaty patient eg). If someone has a bath or shower they will get clean sheets.
If relatives are going to be there for hours on end we would expect them to help where they can.
We wouldn't expect relatives of a bedbound patient to do personal care. That patient should have regular care rounding for skin integrity checks too as pressures sores don't take long to materialise.

There's no need to go in all guns blazing, speak to PALS, or any of the rest of similar advice just yet, go and ask calmly if your daughter could get a wash and change of bedding. If not happy with the response ask to speak to the nurse in charge or the ward manager.

Would you not even help one of your allocated patients?

I wouldn't personally have washed all my patients who needed help or changed their bed sheets when I was a ward nurse ( not a chance I'd have had the time). I would have delegated to one of the junior staff/ HCA 's though. Id speak to the ward manager.

That’s a really interesting way of hair washing. How does it work please? You sound like a great nurse.

Were there complications after her surgery? I only ask as where I had mine done patients were in the shower the morning after surgery. It was an adapted shower, a bag was put round the dressing and the little walk to the shower was considered mobility therapy with a nurse at the back and side of the patient but once in the shower you were given privacy to shower. People then went home the same day but I stayed in for 3 days due to circumstances at home with my adult son who’s autistic - it was a private hospital so I wasn’t blocking a bed.

I was in hospital last year. The staff were very hot on clean sheets and clean patients. Anyone not able to have a wash themselves was washed. The nurse looking after me was lovely and absolutely made sure I was clean and my bed changed.

My mother, in her nineties, was on a geriatric ward in the early noughties. The bells kept going off but no one was answering them. I went to the nurses station and the answer was, there was a fault in the bell system . Not bothered about several old ladies wanting the loo! Plus, the arms on the armchair were worn and rough, and Mum’s skin was frail and transparent. We put bandages on the chair arms. We took her glasses off to clean them and were horrified to see broken sore, weeping skin where the glasses had dug in. The nurse said Mum didn’t like them taken off at night, so they stayed on all the time! To me, it seemed she so rarely had a wash. She sat out all day in the chair having been got out of bed early. She was so tired. At home she always had a nap on the bed pm. I asked why she hadn’t been doing so and she said she didn’t like to ask the nurses as they were always busy. They said she didn’t want to go on the bed. I said why didn’t you suggest that she had a rest instead of assuming. I did complain and got soothing words but nothing really changed.