Alcohol gel in hospitals:

[Robocop]

I am currently undertaking a full DDA audit of a very large London hospital and was amazed, well shocked actually to find that children, wheelchair users and those of a small stature are unable to use the alcohol gel to clean their hands to help prevent the deadly bug MRSI from entering the wards etc.

Why? Those that fitted the gel dispensers lacked the brains to think about the height at which they should be placed. Most are 1500mm + from the floor. OK if you are an adult and standing but not reachable to those that are not. The areas include a SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) at 1800mm heights, this is an area of very sick newly born babies. ITU (Intensive Care) 1590mm, Children’s Ward 1610mm!! The maximum height recommended is 750mm - 1200mm from the floor.

Next time you are visiting a hospital, please take a note of the height of the dispensers and add it here, I’m very interested in knowing if this is an isolated issue. I took a stand on this one and have demanded they are ALL lowered within 28 days!

[temi]

Will be on the look out for this robocop, I would have thought this is a very obvious thing giving the problem NHS is having with MRSI.

[Robocop]

I would have thought this is a very obvious

Sadly the words 'obvious' 'thought' and 'hospitals' dont go together. One disabled WC inspected had the inside door lock located at 1700mm from the floor level. Only reachable when standing, best thing was it had been like that for 2 yrs and nobody thought to change it.

But the best so far involved another disabled WC, it was fully equiped for wheelchair use but cleaners had reported that it never seems to be used as the toilet paper never needs changing. I suggest that it just might be the fact that the door width at 620mm is a great deal narrower than 99.9% of wheelchairs