I remember a few years ago reading an article about hospital acquired infections and the deaths associated with those. The story was about a woman who went in for hip surgery, and ended up dying a month later because she acquired an infection in the hospital.
I remember being shocked at the major cause for problems: doctors and nurses were not washing their hands. Gross.
I also remember when I went to the hospital in Texas to visit my friend who had a baby and watched in horror as the cleaning service took a wet mop and mopped up the bathroom, which had a bit of blood on the floor, and then dragged the mop through the rest of the room without rinsing. Ugh.
A news station in Boston recently reported on the problem of hospital acquired infection, stating:
…prevention efforts are focusing on getting hospital staff to wash their hands with soap and water more frequently…
Here is just a sampling of recent articles regarding the fact that many doctors and nurses are not washing their hands, and it puts your life at risk:
From an article in Memphis, Tennessee (which also appeared in the Washington Post:
Despite recommendations, nearly 60 percent of health care workers do not wash hands while on duty.
…according to an audit last year…found nurses do a better job, but their rate of compliance is still just 40 to 50 per cent – even though research shows nearly a third of hospital-acquired infections can be prevented through handwashing.
The push for education was prompted a couple of years ago after the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention found infections transmitted by hand were responsible for 80,000 deaths and $5 billion to $10 billion in costs nationwide.
The New York Times also has an interesting report that a study shows patients are not willing to ask doctors safety questions, like “Did you wash your hands?” Another report in Time Magazine states that 90,000 people died in the United States due to hospital acquired infections.
Doctors and nurses who fail to wash their hands cause as much damage as drunk drivers, a top NHS adviser said today.
According to recent research, as many as one in five clinical staff neglect to wash their hands between patients, despite evidence it reduces hospital infection.
BirthLove has an excellent compilation on hospital acquired infections following Cesareans.
One Response to “Doctors and Nurses Not Washing Hands Responsible for 80,000 Deaths Nationwide”
Wow, this sounds familiar. Have you ever read the book. The Cry and the Covenant, by Morton Thompson? it is about Semmelweis and his studies of child bed fever. Anyway the book is awesome about the discovery of washing your hands before performing a vaginal exam on a woman. Apparently, during that period of time, doctors would be dissecting cadavers and without washing their hands would go directly into the birthing rooms and check the Moms. Many women dreaded having a baby, because they knew they would not come out of the hospital alive. The women that delivered at home, of course remained healthy. One of our plugs for home birth is that you are immune to your own germs in your own home. This is a must read for all midwives, aspiring midwives, doulas/anyone involved with birth and women. Cathy