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Britain
UK doctorsÂ’ white coats banned under MRSA shake-up
2007-09-18
Long-sleeved white coats, favoured by physicians for decades, are set to be banned under an NHS shake-up aimed at tackling hospital superbugs. Under a “bare below the elbow” dress-code unveiled by Health Secretary Alan Johnson, every doctor, nurse and therapist will also be banned from wearing watches, jewellery such as rings and bracelets, and neckties.

The aims is to stamp out deadly infections plaguing the NHS such as Clostridium difficile - C.Diff - and MRSA. The long-sleeved coats - already being phased out in many hospitals - will go because of the danger of the cuffs carrying bacteria to patients. Johnson said he was “determined to ensure that patient safety remained the NHS’s number one priority”.

“Today’s package will ... set guidelines on clothing that will help ensure thorough hand-washing and prevent the spread of infections,” he added.

Experts have said that up to two-thirds of doctors do not wash their hands properly.
Remind me again where the NHS is recruiting physicians from?
Isn't much better with native-born Americans, trust me.
Other rules, to be implemented by every NHS trust by the end of the year, include quarantining patients suffering from a superbug and giving nurses and matrons the right to report directly to hospital boards four times a year to ensure their efforts are not overlooked by managers. Health bosses will also face a legal obligation to detail any superbug outbreaks or face massive fines. The moves come after a report found British hospitals were among the worst in Europe for superbugs, behind countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Posted by:Fred

#15  There, but for you, are a couple of nasty epidemics, rhodesiafever.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-09-18 18:00  

#14  My 2 cents:

From what I see Temping on the Recycling round at the local "Modern" UK Hospital for the last six weeks is:

They have an MRSA section, but it's on a Need To Know basis.

All waste, clinical or other, goes up and comes down in the same lift system as the food.

Sharps stored in same areas as all other waste.

Anecdotal/.
A bed getting repaired in a corridor, a layer of dust covered with lint was exposed on the hydraulics underneath, not cleaned in about Lord knows how many years, if ever.

So, best answer they come up with last time, close Wards, that will stop risk of the Super-Bugs, for sure, when they all closed, they defeated the Super-Bugs, lol! Success!

Only now, when people objected to Maternity Wards and A&E being closed, are they approaching the problems that are there, having to think for their money. Problem is, it is not joined up thinking, and they too pc to have things like cams on alcohol hand-washes in and out of the wards, never mind scrub-rooms.

And, no, I do not want my health to depend on some Muslim, Doctor or otherwise, thanks.

BTW, I use that haram alcohol liquid soap on entering and leaving all areas where they provide it. I always let the 90 proof aroma wash over me. Beats a good Scotch.
Posted by: rhodesiafever   2007-09-18 15:07  

#13  Given the patina of a scientific discussion in this topic, could someone else confirm the sinister hygienic practice suggested in comment 1 as being widely observed currently as opposed to an historic anachronism?

Happy, Nimble Spemble? I read all of ed's link and it even exceeds what I had expected. There is prescribed direct manual contact with the anal orifice post-defecation and—as is so often the case with Islam—even the allowable amount of residual excrement that can remain after cleaning is specified.

This procedure creates a wealth of opportunities for lodging fecal matter beneath the fingernails, around the cuticles and transferring it to the metacarpal area where laving may not be so intensive. While I do not know what Islam prescribes as a correct length of nail plate extending beyond the nail bed—and I'm sure there's a fatwah for that too—nails would have to be trimmed clear back to the lunula to avoid any retention of fecal particles beneath them.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-09-18 15:05  

#12  NS: one of our 'Cultural Briefs' we had prior to a port call in any number of Muslim countries was that you never touched a Moslem with your Left Hand, as that was considered a huge insult, due to their hygenic practices..... And we were also briefed to bring our own TP.
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-09-18 15:05  

#11  and the next thing is practising "would you like fries with that?"
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2007-09-18 14:24  

#10  The first thing arts majors were taught was, "Don't pee on your hands" LOL
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2007-09-18 12:58  

#9  If you're going to dream of having nuclear weapons you better reform your toliet practices. The first thing a Nuclear Engineer is taught is to "wash your hands FIRST before you go take a pee".
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2007-09-18 11:46  

#8  Muslims regularly refuse to use the antimicrobial hand rinse at hospital entrances as it has an alcohol base. No one is asking them to drink the stuff but they consider it haram so they bring their germs with them everywhere they go.

As a couple of other people have mentioned, a lot of MDs would fail the hand-washing test. It is horrifying watching staff in my part of the hospital...
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-09-18 10:34  

#7  More than you ever wanted to know.
Posted by: ed   2007-09-18 09:17  

#6  I hope no one will be unduly offended if I preface my remarks by noting that Zenster has strong opinions on Islam and that nothing I say should be taken as a general reflection on his veracity. But I would appreciate another source of confirmation of a point has been raised many times before. Given the patina of a scientific discussion in this topic, could someone else confirm the sinister hygienic practice suggested in comment 1 as being widely observed currently as opposed to an historic anachronism? In this country as well? Thank you.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-09-18 09:07  

#5  Hurrah! Forward to the 18th century!
How long till they declare that germ theory is harambanned? Will the docs wear robes and turbans next?
Posted by: N Guard   2007-09-18 05:25  

#4  Considering that Muslims eschew toilet paper in favor of much closer manual contact after defecating

Eww, gross! Something unislamic about TP? Maybe they should just have a bucket full of rocks next to the toilets. Might drive the point home a bit better.
Posted by: gorb   2007-09-18 04:41  

#3  We have small pumps at many locations around the hospitals and clinics that dispense the no-water-needed soap. We're supposed to use this in between seeing each patient. Gawd forbid they put cameras on those suckers because a LOT of my colleagues would flunk.
Posted by: Steve White   2007-09-18 01:26  

#2  Muslim washing practises reveal the problem of binding religious principles being applied to modern professions. When licked by a dog, a Muslim must soak the spot with water, 7 times. There is absolutely no scientific basis for same, indicating that Muhammed concocted a false solution solely to advance his authority to resolve issues. As for washing arms rather than wearing lab coats, it makes sense. By the way, the correct means of washing involves use of each hand to completely cover both arms in sanitizing soap, and then thoroughly washing same. It only takes a couple of minutes.
Posted by: McZoid   2007-09-18 00:37  

#1  Experts have said that up to two-thirds of doctors do not wash their hands properly.

Proper hand washing was one of the first major advances in surgical medicine. England has such a love of cameras, they should place them in washrooms to monitor the sinks. Any doctors caught not washing up once they enter the rest room are suspended without pay.

Considering that Muslims eschew toilet paper in favor of much closer manual contact after defecating, they should be among the most closely scrutinized for hand cleanliness. A program of random swabbing and culturing of hospital staff would go a long way towards halting this problem.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-09-18 00:19  

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