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.

My son picked up meningitis (believed through changing his son’s nappies) and was, like your daughter, incredibly ill. It was a scary moment, more than when he had his motorcycle accident, now he was a father.
My DIL stayed with him when possible and did most of the hygiene care by her choice (she trained as a nurse, just didn’t finish the course). She said the nurses were actually very run off their feet.

Our grandson has been in and out of hospital in the last two weeks, my DIL and myself staying with him (I am exhausted).

The doctor actually changed my grandsons sheets when I asked if I could get a fresh set for him. She was an amazing professional and super supportive.

Hope your daughter is home soon, even though she will have a long recovery ahead of her, just to warn you. My son gets horrendous migraines still three years later, although they are getting further apart.

If course she is bed bound! She is seriously ill she cant move.

Crikey, Barnsley General comes out well here. I don't recognise any of these horror stories. I was well looked after 25 years ago when DD was born.

This is just not true, Ive been a nurse for 30 years. However in some wards standards do seem to have gone downhill in ways previous matrons and ward sisters would not have stood for. It is mostly HCA's who would do this, ask for some help but agree this should not need pointing out.

From reading some of these posts, it's clear that some don't understand what it's like to be very ill in hospital and unable, for various reasons, to be unable to carry out personal care. Or to advocate for oneself. 🙄

just for info and in case you maybe haven't noticed @keepswimming38

As you enter the ward, by the nurses station, there should be a whiteboard detailing

Key Staff Names: The names of the ward manager, senior sister/charge nurse, and sometimes the doctor in charge are displayed.
Named Nurse: Every patient is assigned a named nurse for their care, who often writes their name on a board at the patient's bedside.

There may even be a timetable indicating when each of the principal most senior staff are in ward.

These are the people it would be useful to address your concerns to.

Especially, in this day and age, it is vital you advocate for your daughter and take them to task.

Wishing you and your daughter all the best @keepswimming38

Just approached sister re changing her sheets and she was very shitty with me. I’ve given her a bed bath, helped her to toilet, changed her sheets and now told them what I think of the care.

Agree
Making an occupied bed Is one of the first things you learn as a nursing student

I’m sorry your daughter is unwell and I hope she’s better soon.

Before going to PALS as someone else suggested 🙄 Have you actually spoken to them? Asked them? Your daughter is an adult so they may have checked with her when you weren’t there if she wanted a wash and she may have said no.
unless she is completely unable to move, not getting up to go to the toilet, and unable to communicate, it’s not unusual to not check pressure area care on a younger patient. Just speak to the next hcp who comes in the room. Ask if your daughter can have a bowel to wash with and some fresh sheets. Is your daughter feeling up to that though? If she has capacity they can’t force her.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

@Sahara123you are implying it’s my fault there. I have cared for her the last few days but what I would have appreciated is anyone, literally anyone asking if she wants some help. She has drips, pumps, cannulas etc. I don’t think that is unreasonable tbh!

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.

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

'advocate for herself'.

That's your choice though.

OP's daughter is seriously ill.

Her question is valid.

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.

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.

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.)

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

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.

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.