Why are hospitals so bloody hot!

mike65

My mother has been in WRH since April 22nd and she won't be out for another 10-14 days at the current rate of post-op progress. She's very weak (and nearly 68) and I'm sure her condition is'nt being helped one bit by the incredibly warm and suffocating air quality. All the windows are shut due to building work but I'm near convinced the bad air is doing more harm than anything thay might enter through an open window.

Just a 30 min visit has me feeling worse for wear and I'm gald to get a blast of fresh oxygen afterwards.

Mike.

ps if this is the wrong forum feel free to move but I could'nt think of anywhere else to put it!

DrIndy

Most sick people are in fact bad at keeping warm, and this is why they usually krank up the heat......

Hypothermia is surprisingly common in postop people who are still sedated/sick if the window is left open.....

homah_7ft

That's very interesting. I'd wondered why myself. I started thinking it was just because of antiquated heating systems or something.

eth0_

DrIndy wrote:

Most sick people are in fact bad at keeping warm, and this is why they usually krank up the heat......

Hypothermia is surprisingly common in postop people who are still sedated/sick if the window is left open.....

Where do you draw the line between keeping the patients warm, and helping bacteria to breed with a lovely hot environment?

Traumadoc

There maybe building going on - so to prevent the risk of legionaires disease they may have shut the windows and turned off the AC -

Tree

I'd love to know why they insist on keeping places like stores, the canteen and the labs so warm. patients don't go there!

InFront

eth0_ wrote:

Where do you draw the line between keeping the patients warm, and helping bacteria to breed with a lovely hot environment?

Hygiene. It's the job of the medical staff to keep patients physically healthy, and cold temperatures are not conducive to that.

It just so happens that warm temperatures often suit bacteria as well, but that's an issue for hospital administration to 'look after' the bacteria.

I-like-eggs,mmm

Yes it's very important to keep patients warm post-op. Paticularly for healing any surgical wounds they may have endured. If the room is too cold then there will be a restricted blood flow to the wound which will result in the wound to take longer to heal.

You may think it's warm visiting but think about the nurses that and how warm they are running aroud the ward making sure everythings okay.

DrIndy

I-like-eggs,mmm wrote:

Yes it's very important to keep patients warm post-op. Paticularly for healing any surgical wounds they may have endured. If the room is too cold then there will be a restricted blood flow to the wound which will result in the wound to take longer to heal.

You may think it's warm visiting but think about the nurses that and how warm they are running aroud the ward making sure everythings okay.

Or doctors!

I-like-eggs,mmm

DrIndy wrote:

Or doctors!

Yes doctors too, sorry I left you out there

DublinWriter

eth0_ wrote:

Where do you draw the line between keeping the patients warm, and helping bacteria to breed with a lovely hot environment?

Ummm about 21c I'd say myself.

My Mum landed back up in Beaumont recenty. I measured her ward at 28c on my geeky multi-function watch.

That's bad in itself, but with the windows closed it stifling. I opened her bedroom window and it was like that scene out of Das Boot where they finally manage to get the submarine to the surface after three days and open the main porthole to get fresh air in.

That can't be doing anybody any good. No wonder MRSI is rife in Irish hospitals.

John

Are MRSI levels higher in hotter hospitals? Maybe you should all do a study. As has been stated above, the temperature is that high for a reason. If you are under anaesthetia then your ability to regulate temperature is shot and you are more prone to hypothermia. I'm sure pneumonia has killed more people in cold wards than MRSI has killed in hot wards. It's uncomfortable for you as a well person but if you're a pensioner who's ill then it's likely that you need to be kept that warm. I hate being hot and stuffy myself but I'd rather my loved ones I'm visiting get better than for me to be in a cooler room.

OK, you could argue that not all the hospital needs to be kept that warm but it might not be possible to do that. I'm in a brand new building (and most hospitals would have a more antiquated heating system) where the thermostat controls the heating for the entire building (across four floors) and can't be adjusted for separate floors let alone separate rooms.