Is this a reasonable request from the powers that be?

[CaptainCabinets]

I’m a nurse, I’ve worked all through Covid and lived to tell the tale. We’re a ‘clean’ ward and have been throughout the pandemic. However, the Infection Control bods (who mainly live in comfortable offices) have decreed that no water is to be kept by staff anywhere on the ward (including the front desk away from patients) and must be consumed in the staff room.

Here’s the catch: the staff room is a 3-minute walk away and is shared with other departments, including departments that have ‘dirty’ zones.

Surely we cannot be reasonably expected to work 13 hour shifts in masks and not be permitted to have a quick drink of water without walking for six minutes to get one? We also have diabetics and pregnant women among the staff.

Would we be unreasonable to get the union involved? Is this even legal?!

Unfortunately this doesn’t surprise me.
Who even made this new rule, any nurses or docs involved?

Utterly rediculous. You would rarely get to drink, which is especially bad when wearing face masks. I would keep my water bottle with me.

Nurses are notorious for not drinking enough as it is! I fully expect people to become unwell with UTIs and AKIs.

The ward I was on after four hour surgery had no water and the nurses said I had to wait 12 hours because there was no water on that floor of the hospital.

Not reasonable. We do have access to water in the gym, and we can fill our bottles. Same for work. And school, children have to take their own water.
I do not get where they got this idea from?

[quote CaptainCabinets]@Brieminewine our ward manager is similarly unhappy at the rule (but it doesn’t apply to her office so she’s not actually fighting it) [/quote]
Then she could show her support by letting you store your drinks in there

What have occy health got to say about this rule!?!?!?!?!!?!!

Definitely flag this up with your union, @CaptainCabinets

Clean I think means covid secure. Dirty areas are probably where you may come into contact with covid or other contagious diseases.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I am so so glad to be out of working in the hospital. Petty stupid policies that make no fucking sense.

What was very telling in my trust, the infection control team weren't seen for dust during the peak of the pandemic. Not one of them. Zero contact. Clearly sat in the office making up bullshit to justify their wage.

Can you drink the tap water? So just have a cup with you?

Not to detract from how utterly unreasonable their request is, just wondered if tap water would avoid the need for further drama

I would tell them that if they’re going to enforce this ridiculous rule then you’ll all be taking your full break entitlement off the ward before finishing bang on time so you can all go off to get your water.

Totally and utterly off topic (and I think the water situation is disgusting)

But "clean" and "dirty" ? Really?

@Crunchymum

Totally and utterly off topic (and I think the water situation is disgusting)

But "clean" and "dirty" ? Really?

Op explained above.

‘Clean’ means no Covid
‘Dirty’ means suspected or confirmed Covid.

The rule is ridiculous and poorly thought through. I second (?third) getting your union involved with this.

Just to mention: clean and dirty to describe covid and non-covid wards is not accepted practice where I have worked.

Yes, the clean and dirty terminology is off. I have had covid and I was ill for several months - but it has nothing to do with my hygiene. I got it in March prior to lockdown. Am I dirty? I think not.

@Pinkshrimp

I know what clean and dirty means, I was querying the use of those particular terms.

I thought most hospitals used red / green.

A trust I used to work for tried this.
Apparently it’s ‘unprofessional’ of the nursing and auxiliary staff to be seen to be having a drink in front of patients.
Unions were involved very quickly and the trust backed down.
This was maybe 5/6 years ago.
Utter fuckwits. The people who come up with that will likely be the same people who design the care plan paperwork. Never done a days ward work in their lives.

We are allowed bottles of water in a cupboard behind the nurses station. We will also have tea as well. Every so often the powers that be will ban food. It usually lasts about 6 hours. If that. That went out the window when the Matron bought every ward a very large iced cake for getting pathway to excellence!

It's also over 30oC on my ward. Which is no fun especially in masks.

We have for years described wards as 'clean and dirty'

Goodness, never thought people would be getting offended by the use of ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’

I used them for clarity because, in my backwards Trust, Covid wards are blue and ‘clean’ wards are red. That is confusing so I thought I’d use expressions that everyone could understand but never mind, not really the topic at hand anyway.

For God's Sake! The powers that be are so bloody unbelievable.
Take your bottle of water in with you put it out of site and drink
whenever you want to. Just completely ignore the directive.
If anything is said, just tell them you will take them to the court of Human Rights and tell them to Fuck off. I can gaurantee they will leave you alone..

they’ll be doing ‘spot checks’ on both day and night shifts and reporting ‘offenders’, apparently!

You have got to be joking!!! What a waste of resources on what is a ridiculous rule. This sort of thing makes me really not want to have to re-enter the workforce (sadly this sort of nonsense goes on everywhere).