'NEUROTIC' NURSES IN AGONY IN BUG FIGHT; EXCLUSIVE Scrubbing hands leaves skin red raw.Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA MIDLAND nurses are becoming the latest victims of hospital superbugs superbugs, n.pl infectious diseases that are unresponsive to known antibiotic treatments. - because rigorous handwashing is leaving their skin red raw. And union leaders say some angels are now so determined to stop the spread of diseases that they have become 'neurotic' about scrubbing their hands. Staff and visitors entering and leaving wards are told to use alco-gel from wall-dispensers to help kill potentially deadly bacteria. But some nurses are having to clean their hands in basins or with the gel up to 40 times per day, which is giving, many skin problems. Fiona Holderness-Milne, a junior ward sister at Worcester Royal Hospital, recently highlighted the problem. She spoke out after Sir Liam Donaldson Sir Liam Donaldson is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England. He has held this post since 1998.[1] As the Chief Medical Officer, Donaldson holds important responsibilities across the whole field of health and health care, and he is the British government's , the Chief Medical Officer, partly blamed the spread of the superbug su·per·bug n. Any of various disease-causing bacteria that develop a resistance to drugs normally used to control or eradicate them. superbug on nurses and doctors not washing their hands enough. But Mrs Holderness-Milne said: "All my colleagues and I have 'occupationally challenged skin'. It's red raw, sore and the surface layers peel off. This is due to constant and repetitive hand-washing. "This particular discomfort is further enhanced by the stinging of repeated applications of alcohol gel. "We are so determined to minimise the risk of cross infection that we have become almost neurotically hygienic hy·gien·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to hygiene. 2. Tending to promote or preserve health. 3. Sanitary. ." Ann Leedham-Smith, West Midlands regional director for the Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a membership organisation with over 395,000 members in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1916, receiving its Royal Charter in 1928, Queen Elizabeth II is the patron. , confirmed more nurses were suffering from skin problems. "These nurses make sure their hands are clean, which sometimes means washing them up to 40 times a day," she said. "The anti-bacterial gel does tend to dry the skin out and causes cracking. Yet the nurses can't use cream to help them, because that holds bacteria." And the nursing union boss rubbished Sir Donaldson's criticism. "MRSA MRSA Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. See MARSA. has always been around and is not a new thing," she said. "You cannot disinfect To remove the virus code that has attached itself to a legitimate file. Sometimes, the antivirus program cannot untangle the code, and the infected file has to be deleted. See quarantine. every relative of every patient who visits. "And then there is the problem of contract cleaning as well. When I was a ward sister I knew the cleaner and would tell them what needed doing. "Doctors and nurses are very aware of these superbugs. "The last thing they want is to spread them." anujivarma@mrn.co.uk CAPTION(S): REPETITIVE: Nurses wash their hands up to 40 times a day |
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