Scrubs up well??!

I feel the need for a rant; I'll try to keep it short.

I've been to Sunderland to do visit E and J, in separate hospital wards, both very elderly and frail. On every floor of the stairway,(NB Arth managed 4 flights of stairs) I saw this poster with the freshly scrubbed young man. I was so glad to hear how all the staff are striving for cleanliness but the evidence does not support this statement.

Both wards have been closed to admissions because of infection and have reopened. The standards of hygiene are not good enough. Poor E has a nasty eye infection so his eyes are red and discharging. There is no eye care plan - just when his face is washed and most nurses don't do anything about the nasty crusty bits that remain. I guess his flannel and towel are a hot bed of germs. I asked if he could have eye care and if a swab could be taken - one was done on admission over 4 weeks ago so the nurse thought that was good enough.

I sometimes despair, yet I love the NHS and want it to work.

I will not go on. It was very sad to see them both and I wonder if they will make it out of hospital again.

The day dawned dark and with torrential rain. The roads were flooded.

The good news is that Arth had his best day since before the operation. The birds are singing in the early dusk.