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Thread: Hospital acquired Infection.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Default Hospital acquired Infection.

    I'm really annoyed at the state of our NHS,what has happened to it.

    My son required surgery to repair nerve damage to his hand.Glass also had to be removed.
    Saturday morning trip to Raigmore,cost £50 in fuel return.
    Although we got there by late aftenoon he wasnt taken down till 7pm.We had to go home so luckily my brother went to pick him up the next day and a friend brought him back to Skye.
    This weekend his hand was giving him alot of pain so we went up to casulty to be told it was just swelling.Myself and staff nurse queried an infection as even morphine wouldnt look at the pain.Doctor didnt agree.Yesterday we had to take him back up to casulty where the doctor removed his cast and discovered an infection.
    Once again we were asked to take him through another £50

    Now we arrived lastnight at 10.30 and OH drove back home.I'm staying at my brothers .
    My son still hasnt went to theatre,he still hasnt had iv antibiotics and I'm lossing patience.

    His hand is his work he's a joiner and now is in a worse way because of an hospital aquired infection.

    We will be lucky if we get £30 back in fuel but they would pay a taxi £180 per trip to take him to Raigmore.

    What on earth is going on.
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  2. #2

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    A survey announced yesterday that 30% of people are reluctant to undergo surgery because of possible infection.
    I'm one of them.

    I hope your boys hands heals quickly. You also give a good insight into a remote, rural existence. I presume 'Raigmore' is in Inverness? Please keep us informed of his progress.
    Thanks

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by percy toboggan View Post
    A survey announced yesterday that 30% of people are reluctant to undergo surgery because of possible infection.
    I'm one of them.

    I hope your boys hands heals quickly. You also give a good insight into a remote, rural existence. I presume 'Raigmore' is in Inverness? Please keep us informed of his progress.
    Thanks

    It is Percy and Oh had to drive there after spending all day driving his HGV.
    If he had a portable tacko then we wouldnt have been able to go .Thats another arguement for another thread though.

    My son is back from theatre and I'll go up tonight with my brother to see him.
    They are talking about possble skin grafts as th infection was so widespread.
    If he doesnt learn a lesson from this then he never will.
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  4. #4

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    Oh dear. I've smallish skin grafts to both hands. Not pretty but they do heal well, especially in a fit young person.


    The relevant Minister was on the radio this very mornuing - Alan Johnson. He reckons things are improving with MRSA & c-diff both down by significant amounts. He extolled the virtues of the 'deep clean' but was challenged on this. We have similar infection rates to Malta & Cyprus. More developed nations like Holland and Germany are streets ahead of us in this area. Not good is it?

    Keep your chins up.

  5. #5
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    Default

    Cuddlepop, I hope your son starts healing now. Getting an infection in a hospital of all places is frightening but unfortunately, very common -- it is the same over here.

  6. #6

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    The thought of going into a hospital is fightening enough without the added risk of infections.
    I have a sone in law who is a doctor and my daughter is a nurse and they are both disgusted with the NHS. They are both of the opinion that the 'Managers' should be ousted as they are not medically trained and have no clinical knoweledge and feel the old syle of Matrons should be brought back.
    My daughter was horrified at one hospital she worked at for a short while, to find incontinent patients [through no fault of their own] were in carpeted rooms, where the inevitable 'accidents' were frequent, leaving carpet stained and smelly no matter how much cleaning and shampooing was done.........if that is the lack of hygene that can be seen, what lurks in areas hidden.
    Cuddlepop hope your son heals speedilly......keep hanging in there.....

  7. #7
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    Default

    Hope your son makes a speedy recovery Cuddlepop.

    When my OH was in hospital they used to make fun of me arriving with a green paper towel in my hands to open the doors, then gel on my hands on the way in to the ward and again at the bedside. The staff asked one day "Why do you gel on the way out of the ward?"..........It is obvious to me that they don`t want my germs in, I sure don`t want their germs home!!

    I worked in hospitals for over 30 years and well remember the matrons and the intense cleaning that went on on a weekly or daily rota so that everything was always spotless. I lost heart when the domestic staff were expected to clean toilets with diluted washing up liquid in case the patients drank the bleach.

    Would you allow someone who had only cycled loose with an articulated lorry?.........Obviously not, so why have the hospitals run by number-crunchers instead of folk with skilled medical knowledge.

    Some years ago in Raigmore we were visiting a relative and there was a sultana on the floor beside his bed. My friend videoed it every day for 10 days as it got moved about the 6 bed room, but never lifted..........the in house domestic department did not do anything about it, and the nurses thought it funny.
    Making tomorrow`s memories today

  8. #8
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    Just back from the hospital and am afraid to report that the infection is so severe they had to open up his hand from the wrist to the elbow to get all the puss out/They're going back in on Thursday just to make sure they got it all out.
    What started out as a good wash out to remove glass from his wrist has now developed into a major ordeal.
    His job,holiday,accommodation is now all on the line.

    Its unbelievable how "infected" our hospitals.
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  9. #9
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    Yesterday's op didnt go as well a they hoped and he'll have to go to surgery again on Saturday.
    This is so scarey.Why cant they get on top of this infection?whee did it come from?how could this happen in this day and age?

    No one is saying where this infection came from,all that they will say is its nasty.

    Temperature was 40 degrees yesterday and they had to cool him down with cold towels and meds.

    His arm wasnt even elivated when he got back from surgery and the excuse was they were no proper ones left.
    Registra had to insist on something being used ,so they improvised with a pillow case and a nappy pin.

    Exsasperated.
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  10. #10
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    CP, I'm so sorry to hear your news. I do hope your boy will be a lot better soon but it must be terribly worrying and distressing for you all.

    I spent five months in hospital a couple of years ago with a hospital acquired infection -in fact I had three different ones - and I hadn't even had a wound for an infection to get into. My family found the NHS (I was too out of it to know) was wonderful at the sharp end and literally saved my life.

    Of course my life would have been in no danger if I hadn't got the HAI in the first place. I was in the ICU for a fortnight where the staff and the conditions were first class -but back on the wards was such a different story. There just weren't enough nurses, morale was very low and the standards of hygiene were abysmal. And yes, I saw improvised slings made out of pillow cases as well!

    Of course I was too pleased to still be alive to complain!

    I'm thinking of you and I do hope your son will make a full and speedy recovery.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angela View Post

    I'm thinking of you and I do hope your son will make a full and speedy recovery.
    Seconded !!
    and I'm sure supported by every regular here.
    Keep us informed.

  12. #12
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    At last the staff have identified what infection he has and how to treat it.
    for the qualified amongst you its Staph aureus and a mixed anerobic.
    appertly its unusual to have them both together and now it can be treated with fluctoxacillin and Metrodazole.
    Surgery going ahead tomorrow and hopefully home Tuesday.

    Thanks for all your kind wishes they are appreciated.

    Scarey statistic though ,out of the 6 beds in his ward 3 have post op infections
    Last edited by cuddlepop; 05-Jul-08 at 10:12. Reason: meant infections.....too stressed
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  13. #13

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    How awful for your son to have aquired mrsa and necrotizing fascitis.....Everything is crossed that he makes a full and quick recovery, though it is an awful thing to go to hospital with one thing and end up full of infections you didn't have in the first place.

    What a worry for you..... everyone will be thinking of you and sending you posi energies.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by teenybash View Post
    How awful for your son to have aquired mrsa and necrotizing fascitis.....Everything is crossed that he makes a full and quick recovery, though it is an awful thing to go to hospital with one thing and end up full of infections you didn't have in the first place.

    What a worry for you..... everyone will be thinking of you and sending you posi energies.
    Teenbash if he does inded have mrsa then they are not usui..ng barrier methods of nursing.

    Everyone really cagey as to the exact reasonhe caught it,all they'll admit too is that he's ben very unfortunate and thats an understatement.
    Never judge someone until you have walked two moons in their moccasins.

    Native American Indian saying.

  15. #15
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    This is a complete nightmare and I do hope your son recovers both quickly and completely, especially as his living depends particularly on the use of his arms.

    Will hospitals never learn? This story, sadly all too familiar, should be a wake-up call and at least you could feel it was not all for nothing if the hospital carried out a thorough investigation and made changes to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. But of course they won't.
    The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.


  16. #16

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    Cuddlepop Staph Aureas is MRSA........hospital will be at fault there........... the other infection Necrotizing Fascitis is a bacteria that thrives without oxygen and will have got into the deep tissue...........I don't know what is happening with the medics now... they seem to have lost the plot altogether..... Hopefully your son is strong and hardy and makes a quick recovery....keep us posted as you will be worried sick...... and remember talking is good.

  17. #17
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    cp, I do hope your son's improving and you have good news for us?

    A crumb of comfort in his case - if you're young and fit when you go into hospital, you have a much better chance of recovering from any infections.

    Not such a comfort for the old(er) and sick(er) of course...

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angela View Post
    cp, I do hope your son's improving and you have good news for us?

    A crumb of comfort in his case - if you're young and fit when you go into hospital, you have a much better chance of recovering from any infections.

    Not such a comfort for the old(er) and sick(er) of course...
    Clarification required: When do you stop being 'young' ?

    How is he today cuddlepop?
    Last edited by percy toboggan; 05-Jul-08 at 14:23. Reason: missed a space - and there's a proofreader about ! ;-)

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by teenybash View Post
    Cuddlepop Staph Aureas is MRSA........hospital will be at fault there........... the other infection Necrotizing Fascitis is a bacteria that thrives without oxygen and will have got into the deep tissue............
    Staph aureus has different strains. MRSA is one strain. It stands for Methicillin Resistant Staph aureus. This strain is more common in hospitals.This strain is also carried by normal healthy people living in the community.These people are known as carriers of MRSA.

    MRSA is not always infective. If it is in carriers it does not require treatment.

    My understanding is, if your son is not isolated then probably he hasnt got MRSA. He is probably suffering with a different strain of Staph aureus for which he is getting the treatment in form of Flucloxacillin. Metronidazole is being given for anaerobic infection. Ask the doctor/ nurse next time you are on the ward

    Staph aureus is a bug which produces pus.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by percy toboggan View Post
    Clarification required: When do you stop being 'young' ?
    Fair question, percy, but I don't know the answer.

    I do think it's the combination of being older and chronically ill in the first place that makes people more susceptible to infections and then makes it harder for them to recover from them.

    I'm middle aged and was ill enough to be taken into hospital for non-surgical treatment before I contracted infections while I was there. It didn't help that I proved to be allergic to a number of antibiotics.

    Younger people do recover more quickly from most illnesses or operations. I was told it would take much longer to recover from my spell in the ICU than it would a 20 or 30 year old.

    Having said that, I don't believe that an otherwise healthy middle aged person going into hospital for elective surgery is more likely to have any problems because they are, say, over fifty!

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