Serious issues can develop when nursing homes do not keep up with their sanitation needs. When germs and bacteria spread, vulnerable nursing home residents can be affected in a negative way. This is especially important because these residents are most likely to have medical conditions that, along with poor hygiene, can wreck havoc on their health.
The fact that nursing home residents are older in age creates the perfect situation for their immune system to be weakened by the presence of excessive germs, viruses, and bacteria. Lack of hygiene and sanitation can cause them to suffer preventable diseases that could be avoided by the nursing home that practices proper hygiene. In many cases, the reason why a nursing home might not be putting the appropriate attention to hygiene is because of a lack of staff or resources to keep up with this important daily task.
If proper hygiene is disregarded in a nursing home its patients will most likely get sick. These patients, who need help to do even the most mundane of daily tasks, are often disregarded and left in unsanitary conditions for long periods of time. This negligence from the nursing home is a serious matter for the patients and could possibly be life-threatening.
Not only can nursing home facilities disregard the patients’ needs for cleanliness and basic personal hygiene, but the nursing facility itself may also be lacking cleanliness. It is possible that toilets, showers, bathtubs, bathroom floors, and rooms are not properly sanitized. This can lead to the propagation of germs which could ultimately cause disease and infections.
The kitchen area, where food is cooked and served to nursing home residents, is also a place where it is vital to have the utmost cleanliness possible. The kitchen staff needs to be properly dressed for the job and take all the necessary measures to handle food safely. Also, the dining area needs to be sanitized, including the tables, chairs, buffet tables, floors, and every other area that is touched or handled by the residents.
The physical environment of a nursing home facility may also present an area where hygiene is lacking. Bathrooms and shower areas that are not sanitized on a regular basis represent breeding grounds for germs to spread.
Lack of basic maintenance and staff could be the cause of poor cleanliness in nursing facilities. When there are many urgent situations going on at once, a nurse might forget to wash her hands between treating different patients. This is how germs can easily spread throughout the facility, affecting everybody living there.
Nursing home facilities have the responsibility to train staff to take proper hygiene measures to ensure the health of the residents. Nursing homes with the right amount of trained staff are less likely to have issues with poor hygiene. Cleanliness is of vital importance in this type of facility and cannot be overlooked. Nursing homes can be liable for improper care of their patients due to lack of hygiene.
Negligence and lack of proper hygiene standards are the most common causes of lawsuits against nursing homes. When the health of the patients is being jeopardized due to improper sanitation, nursing homes can be liable. It is the responsibility of a nursing home to staff its facility properly to avoid any hygiene issues. If you have a family member or a person you care about who has been hurt or died prematurely due to improper sanitation in a nursing home, you might want to consider a lawsuit for damages and compensation.