Nurses (& the like) wearing scrubs outside the workplace.

MothballsWallet

fluffnutter wrote: »

If it's about hygiene, then surely it won't matter if they're wearing scrubs or normal attire? If you go outside, then come back, then I guess there's a risk of contamination whatever you're wearing.

TBH, humans aren't very sterile at the best of times. Scrubs or normal clothes, inside or out, we're all pretty grubby.

And I'm probably worse because where I work's an office attached to a repair workshop located on a sewage treatment works site...

Nine_Lives

mumps wrote: »

I am surprised people are saying nurses are on £18k for a 66 hrs week. An old colleague left to train as a nurse and qualified as a nurse 18 months ago. She has told me with unsocial hours payments and the odd shift on overtime she is earning about double that figure for fewer hours.

When i was looking up the position a few years ago, they were all advertised as being reasonably over 20k. Mid 20k was about right.
But the chap said that it was in their area. As i'm not from there area i didn't feel like challenging it.

mumps

K_P83 wrote: »

When i was looking up the position a few years ago, they were all advertised as being reasonably over 20k. Mid 20k was about right.
But the chap said that it was in their area. As i'm not from there area i didn't feel like challenging it.

Don't they havr national payscales in the NHS?

I haven't worked it out but it sounds lik 66 hrs would be close to NMW.

Just did a quick calculation and it would be below NMW and no enhancement for overtime hours or unsocial hours. Doesn't sound credible to me.

Another edit to say I just looked it up on Prospects website and it says

Band 5 (newly qualified nurse) £ 21,176 - £27,534

I believe that is for a 37.5 hr week (3 x 12.5 hr shifts) so not a fortune but alot better than £18k for a 66 hr week.

rustyboy21

I think you are over reacting a bit here.

You have more chance of picking up an infection from nurses hands and skin than the clothing. Even if you did pick it up from the clothing, It would have more than likely come from another patient. Hospitals are full of sick people! . You don't see a nurse changing their uniforms between each patient they see, do you? it would be unrealistic.

With regards to nurses smoking in their uniforms, they have to smoke outside like everyone else. If they do get 5 minutes to have a sly fag, then it is usually standing outside in a howling gale or peeing down. They would be trying as hard as they could to keep the ciggie lit ! The smell of ciggies would more than likely be on their breath more than their clothes.

Theatre staff get changed each time they are going into theatre and they wear clogs normally, set aside for use in theatre only.

brook2jack

That is exactly the point though. If standards for dental surgeries are that clinical staff cannot wear uniforms and footwear outside the practice and that standard hospital nursing carries at least the same risks at dentistry if not higher and most research indicates that clinical clothing worn for a day carries a high bacterial load,most particularly of antibiotic resistant bacteria than surely hospitals should adopt the same policy.

What we are talking about is hospital acquired infections particularly antibiotic resistant ones. These are found on clinical clothing and on clinical staff, people who have had multiple proceedures, antibiotics etc. We are not so much talking about is ensuring that this specialised hospital bacterial flora is not widely spread in the community and community bacteria are not brought in to vulnerable patients ( nurses dog jumps up to say goodbye with faecally contaminated paws. Kid gives a cuddle but has chickenpox incubating. Skin is washed but not the clothes before starting work.)

Not only dentistry but the food industry etc has standards about not wearing work clothes outside of work. So the person who makes a ready meal is better at making sure your food isn't contaminated that your nurse changing your elderly mothers dressings.

It is a cross infection control that costs nothing except 10 mins changing time.

pauletruth

how about distrit nuses. they have to wear there uniform outside. in scotland its now the same colour as the hospital staff. so if you see a nurse in uniform in the community don't assume that its hospital staff. a distrit nurse is often in a dozen homes a day treating open wounds tyet they don't pose a risk.

most mrsa is brought into hospital on patients. hence screening and treating before ops. the wifes hospoital has not had a case of hospital related infection in over 2 years. hand hygine and personal protective clothing use has to be used properly and infected patients isolated. the wife helped with hand hygine audits and it was always the doctors that failed them most often.

Nine_Lives

rustyboy21 wrote: »

With regards to nurses smoking in their uniforms, they have to smoke outside like everyone else. If they do get 5 minutes to have a sly fag, then it is usually standing outside in a howling gale or peeing down. They would be trying as hard as they could to keep the ciggie lit ! The smell of ciggies would more than likely be on their breath more than their clothes.

As someone walking down the street, i don't care too much - i just hold my breath as i walk on by because it bloody stinks.

As a patient, i don't really care for excuses - i don't want someone stinking of smoke as they're treating me, full stop. Totally not interested in any excuse whatsoever. As said, i would rather the nurse stunk of terrible B.O.!!

brook2jack

Hand hygiene already has a policy. There is no doubt that all hospital staff do not wash hands as often as they should.

Interestingly many of the local hospitals do not screen for MRSA except for high risk patients who are people who have had multiple previous surgeries, people on long term antibiotics and all health care professionals. The main vector for passing on hospital acquired infections is the staff. None of our nhs local hospitals have been MRSA free for a number of years.

However as in the research above clothes in hospitals are contaminated routinely with ab resistant bacteria etc. Whilst work is still ongoing to conclusively prove a link , there is enough of a link for most hospitals to have a bare below the elbows policy as skin can be washed during the day , but sleeves cannot.

Stopping all staff who have clinical contact or deal with waste wearing work clothes outside work is a no cost cross infection control which mirrors practice in other areas of health care, will probably provide some clinical benefit and definitely provide the message to the public and staff that cross infection control is taken seriously.

As to district nurses, they are visiting individuals in their own homes. The amount of people they visit is much smaller and the profile of bacteria in an average home is ,on the whole, different to the profile of bacteria in your average hospital. Obviously it's not the ideal re cross infection but less risky than in a hospital where thousands of people are in transit everyday.

I am not saying clothing is a major problem but it seems nonsensical that go for a filling at your local dentist and there should be stricter protocols than in your local hospital. Handwashing is obviously the major problem but every precaution may contribute to saving someones life or pain/disfigurement. Plus it costs nothing except 10 minutes.

Nine_Lives

I've just seen the mention of MRSA there...

I don't really understand too much about it tbh. I know one of my aunts died about 5 years ago from contracting MRSA whilst IN hospital.

When i went for a recent operation, i was swabbed for MRSA - arm pits & groin.

What i wondered was - as i was getting swabbed so that THEY could see whether >I< had MRSA, at no point did >I< see any proof that THEY didn't have MRSA.

pauletruth

they were checking if you had the bug on your skin. they would have given you a special soap and shampoo to treat it. mrsa is not a problem on a healthy persons skin its just staf which you normally carry anyway.
you have not really caught it.

the sick and elderly are of course at higher risk as are those who have had a number of incidents of positive screeenings. in fact some people can't be cleared of it and must be isolated if admitted.