Hospital infection rates and antibiotic resistant bugs are major headline
news over here. Our local hospital is also under scrutiny as regards its
financing. It's brand-new and it's not good in some areas - as I have now
witnessed. Vernon wouldn't let me say anything whilst he was in there, nor
take pics of offending dirt, as he didn't want to make a fuss, so I
respected that. I had him swathed in anti-bacterial cleanser & barrier
cream, but obviously I couldn't have that up his nose and in his ear (op
sites)!

When we were waiting in the hospital pharmacy yesterday for the antibiotics
to be dispensed, it was a tiny room, full, lots of ambient noise, and when
the person dispensing the meds called out names, she was *not* loud and in
the ambient noise, this made her even more difficult to here, plus she
stayed behind the counter so due to the layout of the room, a whole lot of
people could not see or hear her. There was a guy who'd been waiting ages
for his meds, and when the woman called out, he didn't hear her. Turns out
he was partially deaf. When he eventually did hear her, he suggested (very
politely) that she could call out more loudly, come out from behind the
counter so people could see her, to increase chance of her being noticed and
that he was very disappointed that in such a new hospital a hearing loop
facility had not been installed. She told the guy he should wear a hearing
aid... he then pointed out that in a room with high levels of echoing and
ambient noise, a hearing aid was not always appropriate (which is entirely
true). Once the guy left, she and a colleague proceeded to get quite stroppy
and take the mickey out of the guy... I was not amused, as neither was
another lady alongside me. It was particularly galling that on the wall was
a large notice about how rudeness to staff will not be tolerated, racial
discrimination will not be tolerated. Seems to me that all the respect of
person was entirely in one direction :-(

Vernon's 'illness' is not serious. He had to have a grommet placed in one
ear plus have a nose jobbie! Not cosmetic, but the shape inside was causing
airflow difficulties, hence breathing difficulties.

Cheers, helen s

That is terrible :(