Do nursing staff not wash patients anymore or change sheets?

[keepswimming38]

My daughter has been admitted to hospital with meningitis. She’s on an infectious diseases ward. I’ve been by her side most of the day for 3 days and despite her not being able to move as she is so weak, not one nurse has asked her if she wants to freshen up, have a wash, change her sheets. I’ve done it for her. Is this usual? The nurses are sat next to their little computer trolleys, or chatting at nurses station, so not all run off their feet I would say.

Not all children in hospital are small babies/toddlers who aren't toilet trained?

Older children in hospital can need personal care too.

@keepswimming38 I'm so sorry to hear how poorly your daughter is. My son had Pneumococcal Meningitis when he was was 15 months old and it was the most terrifying experience of my life.
In your current circumstances I would definitely have expected help & advice from nursing staff on how to maintain your daughter's basic hygiene and comfort.
My son was unconscious for days and just trying to change his nappy around all the wires and machines felt overwhelming and as if I was going to hurt him, or disturb the medical equipment. The fact you're having to do everything for a fully grown adult, who is seriously ill & in a vulnerable position, without any guidance is unacceptable. I think I'd be contacting PALS if the lack of basic care continues.
Thank goodness she has you there to advocate for her and provide support. And to those questioning why a 20 year old isn't advocating for herself, I can only assume you've never had to witness the devastating effect that Meningitis can ravage on the brain & body in a very short period of time.
I sincerely hope your daughter is responding well to treatment and that she's able to come home soon.
I'm case you're not already aware, Meningitis Now is a fantastic charity to help & support you and your daughter during this time and into the future. I believe they have a section on their website about what information to ask for before being discharged. I wish I'd had that information when DS was finally allowed home.
Don't forget to look after yourself too

Her daughter hadn’t been bathed. OP did that.

Her daughter has meningitis and is bed bound. How much more in need does she need to be in for you to show up?

When I was hospitalised I was given a pack of giant baby wipe type things to freshen up with. I don’t think they do the kind of hands on bed bath any more, which is a shame. If you ask they will have lots of shampoo caps in a cupboard somewhere and wipes so you can help your Dd to freshen up.

I know what you mean I was in hospital with my own child briefly and it’s so stressful . If you are in long term there absolutely should be allowances made for parents to go out and have breaks. But this post implies the staff should just be doing the care all the time which I think the vast majority of children and parents wouldn’t want and would be ridiculous.

Ive been saying this for years and got a load of abuse for it.
I was a nurse back in the 80s and 90s and used to do all the care.
Im a podiatrist now and tons of people come out with pressure sores from poor care, patients of mine have gone into hospital with a foot dressing Ive put on for a gangrenous ulcer and developed sepsis because nobody has looked at it or changed it while they have been in hospital. I dont work in the hospital. We work in outlying clinics. I could go on but standards are dropping for sure.

TurnipsAndParsnips - yep that matches my families experiences different wards in same hosiptal very different experiences.

The geriatric wards do seem to be some of the worst though even they vary.

This particular child is 20.

My dh was in hospital last year for a few weeks, as he had a raging infection. We had to wear PPE to go into his room. I was going in to wash him, change him, administer his eye drops, change the bedding, clean the room, encourage him to eat and drink and so on. Things that you may expect HCA'S to do. I didn't mind.

Some patients don't have anyone who can do this for them, and the staff were genuinely busy supporting them. Some patients had security guards at their door, as some people don't cope well with being in hospital for various reasons.

I’m not talking about the op I was replying to a post about paediatric nursing

My son was in hospital for 10 months and they just didn't have the staff to provide the care. I did always get the impression that it wasn't by choice but that they just didn't have anyone available.

So I had to get used to a new routine of minimal food, dashing to the loo when desperate and minimal showers.

As she was considered an infection risk and wasn't allowed to be on the main wards, and had hepatitis in particular, I do still think the pools of her blood and pus along the corridors should have been cleaned up in a 5 hour window. I know I'd be upset if I knew I was carrying active hepatitis and aggressive hospital infections into my loved one's ward with my feet...

That does sound ridiculous though. I work in a school. Our cleaners clean up all the bodily fluids as do all staff. Inclusive of the times the fluids were dysentry diarrhoea and blood. I clean up puke multiple times a week... It's bizarre that people who choose to clean hospitals clean less grimy things than school cleaners.

My DD has a degree, will always help wash patients, turn etc
Degrees first introduced in the 60s, almost universal by the 90s, compulsary 2010s.

FiL was in hospital recently, HCA's generally do the washing, change sheets etc, if not being done, why wouldn't a relative complain to the ward sister?

Got enough time to post on MN.

On nurses hanging around doing nothing, most people wouldn't know a Staff nurse uniform from an AHP one or an HCA uniform.

Plus, they all tend not to go to the staff rooms (if they exist as some turned into emg wards) so take breaks on the ward.

Funny how we've gone from bashing pots for NHS workers, to just "Bashing" NHS staff.

My 19 year old son had surgery a few years ago. He was helped into the shower every day, and helped with washing until his mobility returned.

i agree with you they should have staff available for this. I don’t think it would be feasible for there to be staff available to look after absolutely every child who is there for all their basic needs. but in your case you absolutely should have been able to have breaks during that time, that’s so unfair and stressful.

I have read through most of these replies and just want to add my voice to the view that some nursing staff in some hospitals are appalling. My poor mum, elderly, confused, incontinent but gentle and polite, was left to fend for herself during many of her hospital stays. She really did try to be clean, but she couldn't do it. Some horrible nurses who sat chatting and laughing while vulnerable people were trying to ask for help. I was shouted at by one nurse for trying to find a bowl of warm water so that I could wash my mother. It was a psychologically damaging experience visiting my mother and witnessing what was going on in the ward.

Because its a hospital and hygiene of patients is part of healthcare .

Yes I am thinking the same! The teachers are getting a day off from being slagged off thankfully and so it’s our turn today!

You are a loving mum in a very upsetting situation.There should be more care.If the nurses were rushed off their feet it would be different but you are right to expect more. Apparently the head nurse sets the tone for each shift, some expecting higher standards from the nurses and hcas. I hope your daughter is better soon and you are both safely home. She has you fighting her corner but how will others without their loved ones fare?

It's essential care, not basic care, I trained in the 80s and part of qualifying was passing a "bedbath" assessment, it's dreadful to think nurses and hca no longer feel patient comfort is important. No nurse, at whatever grade, is above making a.bed or helping someone have a wash.

On some wards, having children in for months at a time is fairly normal too such as oncology, gastro etc so it would be incredibly difficult for those wards to have staff available.

What would help at least a little is one parent getting fed. This happens if you are breastfeeding only in the majority of hospitals though some hospitals do have charities that feed one parent now and it would've been an absolute god send.

The appropriate healthcare professionals are trained in things like moving people in a hospital environment, infection control and personal care, your average mum actually isn't. There's a reason those roles exist.

The more I hear of modern hospital and nursing "care", the more terrified I am of being ill especially as I am single and my mum is old and ill herself.

This is nothing new . I was hospitalised for a week 10 yrs ago , private room with bathroom and aside from doing my obs a couple of times a day and handing out drugs I didn’t see a nurse or an HCA unless I actually called one in to help . I had such a low BP 65/ that I could barely stand and had to crawl to the bathroom . The cleaners never did anything either aside from change the bin bag once . When my late mum was in hospital pre covid we looked after her , different hospital , same lack of care , they couldn’t even get the drugs right .

When my youngest was in hospital at age 10, I was in there with him and carried out a lot of his non medical care and was happy to do so. He was ok with that too, but I can’t imagine him letting me help him with washing and toileting at the age of 20! When my mum was admitted to the cancer wing of our local hospital due to a reaction to her chemotherapy, it was a huge shock to my system (it would have been a shock to my mum too if she hadn’t been somewhat distracted by the fact that everything was exploding from every orifice.) They popped her into a bed in her filthy pyjamas, hooked her up to a drip and that was it. I left her clean pyjamas and arrived back the next day to find she was still lying in her own filth. I spoke to one of the nurses, explained that my mum needed to be washed and changed and the reaction was what I can only describe as the same as I get from my teenager when I ask him to bring down his laundry. There was no way on this earth my mum would have even considered letting me do it and that remained the case throughout subsequent years of dementia. I fully expect an adult to be treated with dignity and have their basic needs met while in hospital. Relatives shouldn’t have to pick up the slack. Mostly I blame understaffing and too much bureaucracy and admin, but I do also think that there are some nurses whose brains don’t even register that the person they are supposed to be caring for is not in fact being cared for. That they didn’t sign up for monitoring this whole hygiene and personal care lark.