I_Love2Nurse

Comment on: Lack of cleaning facilities hampers nurses in fight against MRSA and C diff

I_Love2Nurse's comment 10-May-2009 3:37 pm

Once MRSA or C diff is suspected, then the patient should be immediately put in isolation (gown, gloves. private room with own washroom and strict hand washing before and after entering the room). Anyone entering the room must follow this procedure or it will spread. After the patient is discharged the room must be thoroughly cleaned by trained cleaning staff, not Nursing because they are already overworked by looking after patients. Isn't patient care our responsibility? The hospital should be hiring staff to clean/sterilize, not nurses. MRSA: In our hospital we swab anyone that had been in hospital in the last 6 months or has ever been suspected of having MRSA in the past. If suspected then we isolate the patient. C Diff: A nurse must become familiar with the characteristics of c diff and know how to spot it. Contact precautions are very important to follow if suspected. Once we send a specimen for c diff our protocol is to isolate until cleared. It is a nasty bug and must be contained and irradiated. Nurses should be following strict hand washing procedure, at all times, before and after putting on gloves or touching a patient. Only then will be be able to contain the viruses/organisms.