Saturday, January 30, 2010

HOSPITAL INFECTION SHOCK HORROR

No doubt the Royal Darwin Hospital valiantly attempts to keep golden staph and other super bugs from thriving within its walls. However, just outside the main entrance -at the two Telstra telephone booths- there appears to be an incubator for breeding nasties.


Little Darwin recently had cause to wait outside the hospital for a person visiting a patient and peeked inside the telephone cubicles . Yuk! It was not a pretty sight. There were blobs of black matter and streaks on the wall, which looked as if they had been there for many a day. Handpieces looked greasy, and there was green slime on the ground.

We were reminded of the frightening old ditty on grotty toilet doors which read : It’s no use standing on the toilet seat-our crabs can jump 40 feet! Those phones are used extensively, many people sit on the ground nearby and patients, some barefooted , stroll about .

One elderly man sat nearby wearing a face mask. We don’t know if he was worried about an outbreak of swine flu or protecting himself from possible Telstra contamination. The person responsible for germ warfare at the hospital should don a space suit and,armed with a flame-thrower and disinfectant, inspect the ring alongs and surrounds at the front door.