Hospital Nurses Reveal Infection Control Risk to Consumer Reports
While running on my treadmill after work, an interesting headline appeared on the local news channel: "Hospital nurses reveal risk of cleanliness,
Consumer Reports investigates." I was shocked to discover that 28 percent of nurses said they had seen problems with cleanliness in the past workweek compared to only 4 percent of patients.
We have always been aware of these issues in hospital settings, but what's even more troubling is the fact that most patients aren't aware of the facts. Five percent of patients compared to 26 percent of nurses said that the hospital staff did not always wash their hands.
Are you equally as troubled as I am? Do you think this issue has been ignored and under-addressed? I feel that infection prevention has been addressed within the nursing profession - especially with the awareness efforts of so many organizations and within the medical device industry with the introduction of so many disposable devices and product lines. I am also somewhat surprised that hospital staff is still failing to follow even basic handwashing guidelines - despite the constant reminders.
What do you think can be done to improve these statistics?