Are patients not washed any more in hospital?

[Shortkiwi]

I am a nurse of over 40yrs plus. My 93 yr old father has been in hospital for a week. We have visited every day and had to wash and shave him in the afternoon or evening because it hasn’t been done. When I asked if he could be showered one evening, for the next day, I think they showered him but without using soap or shampoo, basically hosed him down from what he reported. His hair was definitely not washed. His teeth have not been cleaned without us doing them. Shaving is definitely not on the agenda. When I was a young nurse it was a given that patients were bathed each day, either in the bathroom or in bed. Teeth/dentures were cleaned and male patients shaved. We were admonished if these things weren’t done. Dad’s ward was very quiet today with several nurses chatting at the nurses station. They were very happy to get us any personal items we didn’t have. I just think if it wasn’t for us he wouldn’t be clean. He actually said, through his dementia, how much better he felt today after we showered him and washed his hair and said it would last him for a while! Which it won’t of course!
We had a list, in the old days, in terms of total patient care, in which we had to tick off items of personal hygiene for every patient in both our theory and practice. I’m sad for those that might not have relatives to attend to personal hygiene these days. It has never been discussed that we would do it, it’s just not been done. Basically, we have had to take the initiative. Years ago there were charts and care plans at the end of the bed, now it’s all computerised. I can excuse the 3 days of hell in A&E but not these last 4 days on the ward. My Dad is not mobile unless he has a lot of help and he is confused.

@MonsoonMadness I experience hospital care under labour and conservatives. Labour was way better and it was much shorter waiting times. The one thing that has improved is the quality of meals.

During a recent hospital stay I was asked each morning if I needed help washing even though I could manage myself and showered each morning.
Have to disagree about food improving though. Full of salt and sugar and some silly rules. Was told I could have a jacket potato or a salad for tea but not both!!

@Bunty1958

How silly! You can have a jacket potato and side salad on our ward.. and you can have mayo or salad cream! 🥗 🥔

You missed the “where I work” from your post, because as the thread shows that is absolutely not the universal experience atm.

@Bunty1958 Sorry to hear that. I had nice meals and the trolley with tea every few hours had crisps, biscuits, fruit and sandwiches.

I've just remembered I had my appendix out in 2004, and I was on a medical ward for about a week.

I was in a lot of discomfort and had no idea about washing or how I would get to the shower, or even where it was. A really lovely male HCA came around to us all in the bay, one by one, giving us a towel and asking what help we needed with washing and hygiene needs.

When it was my turn, he came round and asked what I needed from my cupboard, and he joked that I had brought the whole of Boots with me. He was funny. He helped me to the shower and I felt much better afterwards.

Just sharing a lovely experience. I'm sorry it's not like this for everyone, it's wrong.

My extremely ill husband was left in wet sheets for 3 hours twice!! I went ballistic!!! He asked the nurses repeatedly if they could help him.....they did not !!! I reported them ....the CEO of the hospital went personally to say sorry and the nursing ward was told off....but in my eyes that is NOT good enough!!! Two months later my dad in fucking intensive care was left in a corner by the window for over 2 hours...asked for help to be put back in bed .....he had major stomach surgery (colon cancer removal) totally ignored and the witch of a nurse actually told me this did not happen and that actually it was alright as far as she was concerned!!! I flipped....I told her to step away from my father and likewise....person in suit top person came and said sorry.....all you nurses out there that are reading this!!! Stop doing this!!!! You know who you are and there are absolutely no excuses and people do not want your sorry arse sorrys!!! This is the state of our NHS ...yes it's at its knees being run by the wrong type of nurses/doctors.....

Same for my dad in his final hospital stay some weeks before he died in July 2016. Not washed, nails filthy, teeth never done. We visited every evening and did what we could to make him cleaner and more comfortable. A friend who worked in the hospital was able to organise a haircut. It was dreadful. We're in Northern Ireland.

My Mum had her teeth cleaned and was washed every day when she was under sedation in the ICU. When I was in hospital and not allowed to leave the side ward, they brought me washing facilities every day of warm soapy water and fresh towel. There was a sink to clean my teeth at. I think they assume you are capable and would prefer the privacy of doing your own ablutions.

DM has reported to showering patients even though she’s not a nurse or HCA. She generally deals with outpatients but sometimes has to visit people on the ward. Sometimes they’ve soiled themselves and not been cleaned so she or one of her colleagues have done it. This was way before covid as well.

It makes you wonder what is the point of the nurse training if staff can't carry out essential basic care? Like an earlier poster said washing/teeth cleaning it's not only for patients comfort but for hygiene and infection control. What's the point of thousands of pounds spent on drugs, monitoring and scans if all the rest is neglected?
Sadly, as a retired nurse (qualified1988) I am not in the least surprised.
Dread the day I may reliant on the NHS.

I work on an acute surgical unit where the majority of patients are fully dependent. We wash every single one of them every morning. Even when we are short staffed. Last week we were still washing at 1pm which is problematic as by them we have loads of visitors around, but it still gets done.

There must be student nurses who spend some time on the wards. Surely to goodness they can do jobs like that. It's all part of patient care, wellbeing and helps them to feel better, more able to cope, more lively.
It's disgusting that these simple things are allowed to slide.
I was a student nurse from 1963-66 and we had 8 x 5 day weeks living in a nurses teaching school where we did biology and physiology among many other aspects of nursing.
1 day a week we were bussed in to the major hospital each student originally applied to and there we had hands on experience of every aspect including toileting, bathing (both bed-baths and proper baths) bed pan rounds and cleaning the sluice. Teeth and nail attention, bed-making, cleaning/ disinfecting beds and lockers before remaking for incoming patients, serving mid-morning drinks, lunch, afternoon teas and dinner, writing up notes, Accompanying a senior nurse on the med round and making sure the patient took the medication.
We learned how to put up a drip, give injections, stood by in theatre as a 'dirty nurse' counting swabs.
All that, besides exams and lectures and not being allowed out after 22.30.
Then there were nights, 8 on 7-7 and 4 off or 10 on 5 off depending which hospital you were at as you had to do 3 months geriatric, 3 in ENT, 3 in children's and 3 in the eye hospital, 3 in general and the rest in your own. Mine was a gynae hospital.
You had to live in the nurses quarters for the first year proper and on night duty, go to lectures in a fresh uniform right after breakfast, for which you had to sign in supervised by a sister.
Our pay was £11 per month after tax, meals and laundered uniform costs were deducted.
Nurses nowadays do far less NURSING.

Student nurses are supernumerary and pay for their own training. They are entitled to protected teaching time from senior nurses and not used as unpaid HCAs especially in third year. They have to learn to do the job not be used as free labour.

Last time I was in hospital, I was in my mid-20s think the rest of the ward were aged 50+. I was in for IV antibiotics so I was basically fine. It was an ENT ward and a few ladies had the tampon like things up their noses and they couldn’t get out of bed. I ended up going round and helping them all for something to do. At one point the elderly lady next to me seemed quite distressed. She kept pressing her buzzer but no-one came. I asked what was wrong and she thought she was having a heart attack. I went to the nurses station where the two nurses who had been chatting to each other both turned their backs on me. I said excuse me, could you help me please. They both ignored me. So I said well perhaps you’d like to know the lady in the bed next to me is distressed as she thinks she having a heart attack and no-one is answering her buzzer. That finally got their attention. Trying to get my cannula moved when it tissued (I think that’s the right term) was a nightmare. There was no point in being in hospital if I wasn’t getting the IV antibiotics. I’d have rather been at home. I threatened self discharge in the end. A doctor was some found then. I feel like if you are in hospital you need to be able to advocate for yourself. I think that getting medical issues sorted is more important than hygiene though that does come a close second.

Both my mum and dad were in hospital for their final weeks on this earth.
No washing or brushing of teeth etc. Same as your experience, the nurses sat around the station chatting about TV, nights out etc.
When I asked for help you’d have thought I’d asked for the earth. My mum had a terrible last few weeks. The nurses were definitely not rushed off their feet.
Unsurprisingly I didn’t clap for the NHS workers. I know a lot do work extremely hard but not the ones who were meant to be there for my parents.

A tip for relatives bring in day clothes , people should not be sat in PJ's .If you are ill it's really important patients try to mobilise and gain independence as soon as possible especially when elderly. Skills can be quickly lost.

*@Trinidading3
*
all you nurses out there that are reading this!!! Stop doing this!!!! You know who you are and there are absolutely no excuses and people do not want your sorry arse sorrys!!!

How dare you make such a sweeping generalisation!!!!!!! Those examples you gave are horrendous but you absolutely CANNOT label all nurses that way!!!

I can assure you that no nurses on my ward treat patients that way.

I've said this time and time again on this thread.

And on our ward it's shocking the amount of patients who you go to help get dressed and al they have is nightwear as they think they will be lying in bed al day.

They aren't ready for physio if they aren't dressed.

Actually you know what really pisses me off , very very unhelpful relatives and it's getting worse. One man rang me for assistance kept ringing the buzzer , he was perfectly fit and healthy . I was in the middle of attending to another very poorly patient , he wanted me to take his wife to the bathroom she only needed minimal assistance , if that was my relative I would help. What happened to in sickness and in health ? My DH would help me to the loo and not wait for the staff to do it.

@Felix01
Who said we weren't paid? We were paid from day 1 according to our year with annual raises.

There were ward orderlies who did the dishes in the ward kitchen, cleaners who did the floors, doors, windows and everything bar the beds. Besides lectures, we learned on the job. I assisted in some ops in my second year. It was a hugely enjoyable profession and I went on to do theatre work and then into nursing on the private wing.
We were much more meticulous about patient hygiene, ward hygiene, visitor numbers were strictly adhered to and nurses welfare was top class. You couldn't skip meals or miss lectures.
Nowadays anyone can sit on a patient's bed, there are plates on the floor or under the bed, a million items on lockers and medication often just handed out but not checked that it is taken.
Nursing staff come to work and go home and often shop in uniform on the way home.
No. It's far too sloppy nowadays. Just like the police force.

Did you say you were with a poorly patient and would he like to do it?

What would have made a difference to me on this thread - even if a single nurse had acknowledged how awful it is to unwashed for days on end.
Matted hair that needed cutting out.
Over prescribed morphine which was given to me twice by mistake and made me so ill.
Lying in soaking wet sheets for hours and hours because I was bed bound and no one would answer my buzzer.
Falling out of bed and being left for hours on the floor in agony after trying to reach my phone to call my family for help.
Being left with bowls and bowls of sick after said morphine overdose.

Just a few examples of the many many incidents I personally experienced.

It was inhumane.
It was deeply distressing and I have never ever properly recovered.

So you may talk about ‘day clothes’ and spin and reverse the truth - but this actually happened to me, and many more patients that are not alive any longer to tell their story on here or anywhere else.

You have to be young, fit and have strong advocates to stand a chance in our hospitals today of leaving the place in one piece. Most patients by default do not fall into either of these categories and their neglect is totally ignored and it breaks me to think of their suffering.

It is literally medieval and no amount of day clothes will change that!

Swissmountains you have obviously been through an ordeal, by why should anyone on this thread apologise for something that has nothing to do with them. I can say truthfully as a nurse I have always done my very best to advocate for my patients. Things go wrong and we are all human.

Except she didnt say apologise @headstone She said acknowledged. Nice try though!