I need opinions on this matter.

[hi725]

I can't do a poll because I'm on the app.

Pretend you are a physical/occupational therapist who works in a hospital. Your patient makes a mess of the toilet while having a bowel movement.

You clean up the patient, and call housekeeping/environmental services to clean the toilet.

Was this a correct, or incorrect course of action?

[bugandbibs]

That is what I would have done. (I'm a nurse).

Unless your position doesn't cover being alone with a semi naked person, and then I would have called for help for liability reasons.

[lilibet]

Correct. This is why hospitals have those positions, no? Besides, I would presume they would have access to the proper cleaning items a provider might not.

eta - whoops, I just responded about the person to clean the bathroom, didn't even think about cleaning up the patient, it just seemed obvious. But on second thought I suppose that's not necessarily in the normal job description for a PT type provider. I guess unless there's policy against the provider cleaning up the patient I'd say it was correct as long as they are ok with it and have the proper items needed to do so (gloves etc).

[hopecounts]

Unless previous protocol training had told me otherwise I would consider this the appropriate course of action.

[hi725]

I am so outraged I can't wait for more than a few answers. The semi naked person isn't the issue.

After we called housekeeping to clean the toilet, we were told, first by a custodian, then by his supervisor, that we had to wipe the shit off of the toilet seat ourselves and housekeeping would then come and disinfect. Because, housekeeping doesn't clean up feces. In a hospital.

I am WTFing so hard right now. I have been there three years, and my supervisor who was there today, has been there 14. We were stunned. We take care of hygiene for the patients and provide therapy. Cleaning toilets is not in our job description and our billable time doesn't exactly cover it either. She took one for the team and wiped it up, but we will both be speaking to our department head on Monday because, just, no.

As further argument, our clothing is neither supplied, nor cleaned by the hospital, whereas housekeeping has uniforms. If I get shit or other bodily fluids on me, I have to launder it myself, and replace whatever is ruined out of my own pocket.

[woodenshoes]

My brother worked in environmental services at a hospital for a few years and he definitely had to clean up feces. It was a big part of why he was longing to get out of that department and eventually did. Team you.

[WOT?*]

Yeah, sounds like someone in maintenance needs a call from management if they think cleaning is not in their job description.

[Monica Geller]

Team you!

[lime]

Their response was ridiculous.

[RoxMonster]

I would assume that is in their job description, not mine. Definitely talk to your dept. head Monday and get this sorted out for future incidents.

[auntie]

I'm sorry this happened.

Team you, of course. TBH, I was surprised you wouldn't have gotten some kind of nursing help to clean the patient.

[FastHands]

I agree with you. If a patient had this issue when he was alone, would he be expected to clean the seat himself? Whoever it is, there has to be someone to handle these things.

[hi725]

Oct 25, 2014 16:58:51 GMT -5 auntie said:

I'm sorry this happened.

Team you, of course. TBH, I was surprised you wouldn't have gotten some kind of nursing help to clean the patient.

Toileting patients is actually in the domain of occupational therapy. It doesn't bother me to help a patient that needs it, but I'll be damned if I'm going to clean a toilet. It's not direct patient care.

[auntie]

Oct 25, 2014 17:02:44 GMT -5 hi725 said:

Oct 25, 2014 16:58:51 GMT -5 auntie said:

I'm sorry this happened.

Team you, of course. TBH, I was surprised you wouldn't have gotten some kind of nursing help to clean the patient.

Toileting patients is actually in the domain of occupational therapy. It doesn't bother me to help a patient that needs it, but I'll be damned if I'm going to clean a toilet. It's not direct patient care.

I knew OTs often work in this area, especially in rehab after strokes and TBI, but I would have thought you'd have help with cleaning up.

You have more important things to do than housework.

[Deleted]

That's really weird and doesn't make sense.

What do they do in rooms and the OR when there is blood and other bodily fluids all over the floor? They can't expect someone other than housekeeping/maintenance to clean it up. Same thing with the toilet.

Regardless, it's definitely not your job to clean a toilet, so someone else needs to figure out whose job description it falls under.

[balletofangels]

It seems odd to me. However, I can say that the two times I puked in such a manner that it needed to be cleaned up the nurses did the cleaning. I just assumed it was convenience factor. Also, when I had a roommate using a commode or having bathrooming issues in bed that was the PCA (nurses aide) who cleaned that up. But, because this was in the actual bathroom and not bed I would think it was housekeeping's domain.

Also, when a nurse went into labor on shift and her water broke in the hallway, housekeeping cleaned that up.

[lilafowler]

What would they have done if the patient had just had an accident on their own if you weren't there providing therapy?

Leave it there?

[bonquiqui]

They are wrong

[Deleted]

I am a PTA in a rehab hospital. I have done both. I would say of you called environmental services it was fine. If you want to get technical about it, the units you spent cleaning up the mess were not skilled therapy and therefore not billable. If your hospital is as particular as mine about productivity they would not want you doing that. If you allocated for the time I don't think it would be a huge deal. Especially on the weekend when staffing is sometimes an issue. 

[Deleted]

Oh, and housekeeping doesn't clean up feces?? Uh, yeah they do. When someone is incontinent in the gym or anywhere else, you call housekeeping. End of story.

[spellingbea]

I work in a skilled nursing/rehab, and housekeeping is absolutely who would be cleaning that shit up.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Did they think it would be covered by a physical medicine tech or something? I don't understand.