"Wrexham Maelor Hospital ... poor hand washing"

It would seem that even basic hygiene is not practiced or even understood by the staff I saw at the Wrexham Maelor hospital. I watched numerous nurses and doctors attend to different patients without washing their hands. Their attention included changing dressings, changing IV drips, administering medication and general examinations. The nurses I saw who did wash their hands seemed to be completely unaware of cross-contamination. They would turn the taps on with their dirty hands and proceed to wash their hands. Then after a short time of washing them, they would turn the dirty taps off with their clean hands, thus re-contaminating their hands. They then would dry their hands with a paper towel and open the lid of the rubbish container with their hands, thus contaminating their hands further.

Provision now exists in present day to make washing facilities, motion activated. It is not necessary for staff to touch anything and contaminate themselves. The same has to be said for rubbish facilities. Contact with a user's hands is not necessary.

Another concern which needs addressing is the storage and handling of intravenous drips. I witnessed an IV drip bag lying on the bed of a patient and in direct sunlight. This despite the fact that the bag displayed a caution against exposing the contents to direct sunlight. To further increase my concern, this particular IV bag was not for that patient.