Category Archives: hospital

Social care cuts ‘could lead to higher NHS bills’

October 16, 2012   Carers, hospital, Older care, ukcuts

Dying people could end up in hospital sooner – and so cost taxpayers more – if cuts to social care services continue, a report warns today.

Better social care appears to reduce the need for hospital until the very latest stage among the dying, found the Nuffield Trust.

By , Medical Correspondent

6:45AM BST 16 Oct 2012

The Nuffield Trust, a think tank, has found that good social care tends to keep the terminally ill out of hospital until they really need it.

Their report looked at the usage that 73,000 people made of council social services and hospitals in the last months of their lives.

Dr Martin Bardsley, head of research at the Nuffield trust, said: “Our study suggests how social care might be effectively substituting for hospital care for this group of people.

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Four-star treatment for patients on the NHS

September 26, 2012   Cancer, Carers, hospital
A Four-star hotel catering only for hospital patients has opened in London.

26 September 2012

The Cotton Rooms is the first of its kind in the NHS and has been built and funded by University College London Hospital’s charity.

The 35-bed hotel near Tottenham Court Road offers all the comforts of a good hotel — including fluffy towels, slippers and internet access — without charge.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy on a daily basis will benefit as well as others who are undergoing tests at UCLH.

In the past, many patients have either endured long journeys home every night or stayed on a noisy ward or in nearby hotels alongside ordinary paying guests.

Now patients can receive hospital treatment during the day then check into the Cotton Rooms afterwards.

The idea is that people can live normal lives but with medical help on standby when needed.

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Nurses are being forced to clean toilets and mop hospital floors on top of their patient care duties

September 4, 2012   Carers, hospital
  • More than half of NHS nurses say cleaning services for their ward are inadequate
  • One in five say their trust has cut back on cleaning in the last year

By Rob Preece

PUBLISHED: 01:38, 4 September 2012 | UPDATED: 08:52, 4 September 2012

 

Burden: A ward is deep-cleaned at the Royal Free Hospital in London. A survey suggests that NHS nurses across the country are having to carry out more and more cleaning tasks themselvesNurses looking after patients in hospitals have also been forced to disinfect toilets and mop floors as hard-up NHS trusts cut spending on cleaning.

More than half of NHS nurses told researchers that they believed cleaning services for their ward were inadequate, with about a fifth saying their hospital trust had made cuts in the last year.

The survey of 1,000 nurses and health assistants revealed a third had cleaned toilets or mopped floors in the last 12 months.

Burden: A ward is deep-cleaned at the Royal Free Hospital in London. A survey suggests that NHS nurses across the country are having to carry out more and more cleaning tasks themselves

Some also reported having to clean corridors, computers, nursing stations and offices.

Two in five respondents said they had cleaned a bed area or single room vacated by a patient who was infectious.

Four in five said they had performed the same task following the discharge of a non-infectious patient.

Worryingly, almost three quarters of respondents said they had not been trained for such cleaning practices.

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