UK toddler out of hospital after petting zoo kidney failure; 5th farm closes
Todd Furnell (right), a two-year-old boy who suffered kidney failure following an E.coli outbreak at a petting farm was discharged from hospital after two weeks. Unfortunately his brother was still on a drip and too unwell to be released.
The Health Protection Agency said yesterday that a fifth farm has partially closed after identifying a further five cases of E. coli O157 in people who had visited Big Sheep and Little Cow Farm.
17 per cent of students used hand sanitizer during norovirus outbreak; NZ study reports same result
“It looks pretty sweet. It looks awesome. That suit, it’s incredible.”
One of the best lines from the movie, Napolean Dynamite, and one that came to mind when I read about a New Zealand study that found 18 per cent of people at a hospital used a hand sanitizer.
We found 17 per cent of students during a norovirus outbreak at the University of Guelph used a prominently displayed hand sanitizer back in 2006.
Maybe that’s just the rate of people paying attention to handwashing. Who knows about these things? Our study was written up in the Chronicle of Higher Education today, with Ben making lots of pithy quotes.
The 2009 New Zealand study appeared in Eurosurveillance this morning and the abstract is below.
The hand hygiene behaviours of the public in response to the current H1N1 influenza pandemic 2009 (or other pandemics) have not previously been described. An observational study was undertaken to examine hand hygiene behaviours by people passing a hand sanitiser station in the foyer of a public hospital in New Zealand in August 2009. Of the 2,941 subjects observed, 449 (18.0%, 95% confidence interval: 16.6, 19.6) used the hand sanitiser. This is a far from optimal result in response to the health promotion initiatives in the setting of a pandemic. These findings suggest the need for more effective health promotion of hand hygiene and also provide baseline measurements for future evaluation of hygiene practices.
Are self-serve buffet restaurants in hospitals a good idea?
Some employees at a U.K. hospital are saying the only buffet in a hospital should be named Jimmy (with an extra ‘t’ right, exactly as shown).
A new self-service buffet is making a pig’s breakfast of infection control at Coventry’s University Hospital, angry staff claim.
The help-yourself spread was unveiled at the hospital’s main restaurant last week and is open to workers, patients and visitors.
Shocked hospital workers say they were only warned about the change days earlier when a sign went up.
They claim the self-service system is a hygiene disaster waiting to happen.
Allowing sick patients to handle the food could quickly spread infections, such as the highly contagious norovirus sickness bug, staff say.
One angry worker told the Coventry Telegraph,
“I think it is disgusting. Patients have been coming in with catheters and drip tubes in and rummaging through the piles of toast. Who knows what infections they are bringing down from the wards.”
Craig Smith, spokesman for contractor ISS, said the self-service breakfast buffet was launched to offer its customers more choice after consultation with staff and visitors.
“It is not unusual to have a self-service restaurant in a hospital – it is in place in hospitals up and down the country.”
HACCP increases customer satisfaction
The Eye of Dubai reports that the Tawam Hospital in Abu Dhabi has increased patient satisfaction by implementing a HACCP plan.
Were patients, staff, and guests previously dissatisfied with their foodborne illnesses, I wonder?
The CEO of the hospital, Mr. Michael E. Heindel, was quoted as saying,
“By implementing food safety audits and ensuring that staff at Tawam adhere to food safety standards and procedures we have been able to increase patient satisfaction and meet the [requirements for HACCP certification].”
The article, titled Taste and quality of hospital food on the rise, mentions several other improvements in the service of food at Tawam Hospital and seems to credit all of them to the HACCP plan.
It appears the culture of food safety stirring at the hospital has raised enthusiasm for improved quality of service overall.
To that, I say, “Hooray for HACCP.”
Latvia's hospital-themed restaurant
Amy and I just got back from another prenatal visit with the doc. She says everything is great, and we’ve checked out the facilities at the local hospital – doc says upon admittance, make sure to ask for one of the rooms with the hot tub.
The dining facilities aren’t quite so elaborate, although you can order from a menu and have it delivered within 30 minutes. And while I’m still hot on the idea of a Safe Food Café for dining and research, I won’t be pushing for a hospital-themed restaurant anytime soon. But that is exactly what opened in Riga, Latvia, where guests can dine on consulting beds, while being waited upon by nurses.
Depp donates to hospital
Apparently, Depp gave the hospital £1 million ($2 million) of his own money. He also invited 5 doctors to see the London premiere of his most recent movie, Sweeney Todd.And on November 29, unknown to the public, Depp spent four hours at the hospital telling bedtime stories to patients dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow after having his Pirates Of The Caribbean costume flown over from Los Angeles.
Sounds like an ideal candidate for a public service announcement (PSA) on foodborne illness.
Sorry you're sick, how's the food?
A U.K. MP is urging hospitals to display environmental health reports on their websites, telling EDP 24, "I would be very pleased to go and look at standards. Patients have a right to know how their food is being prepared when they go into hospital. Hygiene standards must be made public via clear and accessible ratings for each institution. The worst performers should be named and shamed - while those doing well would stand as an example to drive up standards."
The comments by Liberal Democrat health spokesman and North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb followed the release of a report by the Liberal Democrats that found that nationally nearly half of all hospital kitchens and canteens in England could be failing to meet basic standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
Vermin, cockroaches and mouse droppings, medical waste on food handling equipment and poor person hygiene among catering staff were all cited as problems.
