cross-contamination

[Guest guest]

I have been reading the posts about pins on badges and it brings up

something that I have been wondering about for awhile. Right now I

am working for a private service and we do a lot of dialysis

patients. Over the last few months I have been observing the

practices of the medics from the ohter companies who come and go

while I am waiting to pick up my patients. When the crew pulls up

they put their gloves on before they get their stretcher out and

leave them on for the duration of the time they are waiting for

their patient or they will drop off their patient and leave their

gloves on while they are walking through the lobby back out to their

truck. I even observed one medic getting a coke from a public coke

machine for the patient with his gloves still on. When the medics

walk out with their patient, both crew members still have their

gloves on and the one who gets in the driver seat leaves his/her

gloves on while driving. Everything they touch after they have

touched the patient is now contaminated, including the steering

wheel that they touch without gloves after they drop off their

patient. I have taken a lecture by hospital staff for both crew

members walking through the hospital with gloves on because one

should not be wearing gloves so they can touch door handles,

elevator buttons etc. without contaminating them. Who is teaching

them this? Am I the only one who is disturbed by this? With the

with all the concern about cross-contamination and the spread of

MRSA and other infections, has no one thought that this might be a

factor, expecially in dialysis centers where the patiens already

have compramised systems?

Just a question.