Hundreds of nurses at a Black Country hospital are risking the spread of superbugs by snubbing the in-house laundry service and washing their uniforms at home.
Staff at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital say a majority of nurses wash their uniforms at temperatures not hot enough to kill infections because garments are often lost or come back creased from the in-house cleaners.
Hospital bosses say it is vital that medical staff use the contracted laundry firm, Sunlight, because they wash all uniforms above the 65C required to prevent the spread of potentially fatal superbugs such as C-diff and MRSA.
But according to one hospital employee, a large proportion are still flouting the rule.
“I would say 90 per cent of nurses just take their uniforms home,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone who’s not had a problem of some sort with their uniform and I think people have just got fed up of it.
“I can understand that, but the wash has to be almost 70 degrees to kill MRSA and if people are taking their uniforms home, most of them won’t be washing them at any more than 30C or 40C.
“A lot of them get the bus home and must come into contact with all sorts of bacteria, so it can’t be helping the hospital bring down the number of superbug cases.
“It’s a shame they even contracted the laundry out in the first place, because the hospital used to do it all themselves and it was a really good service. “You could even pay and they’d do your curtains, so they even ran at a profit.”
Dudley Group of Hospitals spokeswoman Clare Craddock said: “The hospital has a clear policy and all staff should hand their uniform into our laundry service in line with this policy.
“Under the policy, uniforms are laundered to the thermal disinfection temperature of 65C and above.
“This removes harmful germs and reduces bacteria to a safe limit.”
Sunlight Services spokesman Martin Roberts said the firm ran more than 50 laundries at sites across the country and had received no complaints.
“If the hospital are not complaining about this, it would be very difficult for us to act,” he said.
The Express & Star revealed last month how superbugs had contributed to the collapse of Russells Hall Hospital’s bid for “go-it-alone” foundation trust status.
Last April it emerged a hi-tech cleaning system at the site – hailed in Parliament as “revolutionary” – had been ditched in favour of mops and buckets of bleach.
Hospital chiefs confirmed that the microfibre technology unveiled amid much fanfare last year had been abandoned after failing to stem the rocketing number of superbug outbreaks.
Bosses had hoped that the cutting-edge equipment would help beat potentially fatal superbugs MRSA and C-diff.
10 Comments
When I was nursing we were not allowed out of the hospital in uniform at all.These days all staff seem to think that it is alright to wear their uniforms when out shopping or taking children to school.
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Beyond belief!!
Now it must be acknolledged that minimum level of education and grades must be raised conciderably for anyone thinking of training to become a nurse. If they obviously have`nt enough common sense to work out the basics,,,,, God help us all when they are let loose on modern day high-tech medical equipment and procedures. The fact that this country has by far the most appalling and highest rates of MRSA etc. in western europe, speaks for it`s self!!!
But on the other hand!! If the hospital management can`t even manage to sort out the laundry in a competent manner, then they should be the first to be looking for new and less responsible jobs.
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I spent 10 years in the hospital and like to think i was meticulous with my hygiene. i think very few nurses actually ware uniform out and about, but those who do give us a bad name. nurses are given a choice to wash own uniforms, and the services available are not always as adequate/easily accessable as hospitals make out. if theyre that concerned, it should be made essential to use the autovalet service.
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I can’t believe how many wear their uniforms to and from hospitals, and their shoes too.
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Of course all those hard working nurses really love taking their uniforms home,paying for extra detergent and the time spent hanging out and then ironing.Just what the doctor ordered you might say or perhaps the laundry service is not up to the job as it wasnt when my wife worked in New Cross.
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Nurses have always flouted rules as they see themselves above reproach. Uniforms should not be worn outside hospitals and nurses should receive warnings for doing so. No other occupation would get away with their sloppiness and lack of respect for patients’ welfare.
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Alan, Can you confirm that your wife washed her uniform above 70C, or did she follow the soap makers crud and “save the environment” with a lower temerature
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this beggars beyond belief - one of the things National Concern for Healthcare Infections has been calling for is back to basics - inhouse laundry for uniforms and now here we have healthcare staff flouting these rules and not using the facilities provided why have the bosses at dudley not made it mandatory with disciplinary action if people continue to flout the rules
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This hospital is rife with bugs, my uncle was recently in for ulcer op, ended up catching C-diff bug, sent home twice still with bug, only re-admitted after kidneys nearly packed up, had diarrhea for nearly 3 months, what with this nurses uniform problem is it any wonder, its a disgrace the state of our hospital cleanliness.
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It is a great shame the the NHS do not issue a wash additive that kills mrsa at any temperature and keeps on working until the next wash.
A product that does this is available and has been offered to the NHS on “free” trial but has been refused !
What a mad world we live in. You would think that it would be sensible to take every possible precaution, but alas they just ignore most of them!
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