How Patients And Visitors Can Help To Prevent Infection
Everyone has a role in preventing infection in hospitals. The following advice should be followed whenever possible:
Patients
- Please feel free to ask staff if they have cleaned their hands before they touch you
- Please report any cleaning problems to staff so that we can correct them
- Please wash your hands after using the toilet or commode or ask a nurse for help
- Please clean your hands before eating or ask a nurse for help
- Please do not touch your wounds, drains etc without guidance from staff and without cleaning your hands before hand and afterwards
- Please do not touch other patients or their belongings without cleaning your hands before hand and afterwards
- Keep your bed area as tidy and clutter free as you can to make it easier to clean thoroughly
Visitors
We do not want to prevent you having contact with your friends/family but do follow this advice:
- Please do not visit if you are unwell and in particular if you have diarrhoea or vomiting. Please do not visit until you have been 72 hours clear of symptoms - this is because you may remain infectious even after the symptoms have stopped.
- Please follow any instructions given by staff or on notices
- Please do clean your hands when entering and leaving ward
- Please do not touch wounds, drips etc unless you have received advice from staff
- Do not bring in food for patients without asking staff for advice
- Please do not sit on the beds, if you cannot find a chair please ask a member of staff for help
- Please place rubbish in the bins provided
Finally, please do tell us if you spot any cleaning problems so that we can take action