Gloves during treatment?

i was thinking about this in the shower this morning, and as i know we have some nurses on this board, i thought i'd ask.

when i went to get routine blood taken to test my thryoid (at my gp surgery), the nurse didn't wash her hands or put on gloves.   she may have washed her hands b/f i entered the room.

when i went to get blood taken at the std clinic, that nurse put on gloves. 

is the difference that the second instance is high risk?  should the first nurse still put on gloves?  i feel like i should have asked her to put on gloves.  also, in neither case did the nurse first wash the puncture site, unlike the us. 

see I have a problem with this ..I like wearing gloves with almost every procedure I do ...not because I'm afraid of catching anything just because I don't want to spread things between patients. I get told off for wearing them (see NHS rant thread)

Some lecturers find wearing gloves proper nursing care and others don't find it proper patient/nurse relationship....

if she was taking bloods she should have been wearing gloves that was a risk she was taking...and it's not out of place for you as a patient to ask if they have washed their hands...there are hand gels that nurses use but that doesn't protect you from needlestick injuries...tsk , tsk naughty nurse!!

oh I forgot to say ...they don't wash the site with an antiseptic wipe here...it's actually makes the injection more painful..hence why they don't do it...

::begin highjack::
I can't remember if the nurse wore gloves when they drew my daughter's blood last month or not. They did wash their hands prior, though.    I was a bit scared since she is a VERY hard stick.  However, one thing they did that they NEVER did in the states was to place Emla (not sure what it's called in the UK) cream on both arms.  In the states I had to buy a tube and do it myself.  Anyway, between that and the way they drew the blood (she faced me while I was sitting on a stool and I was able to hug her and maintain eye contact during) meant that the blood draw went much better than expected.  Only two pokes and no jiggling of the needle!  The best thing..my daughter was not in pain and did not cry.  And the nurse thanked me for explaining why she is a hard stick.  Usually I get the 'she is a paranoid Mom and as such does not know what she is talking about' look
She had had quite a few blood tests in her life-so when we have a good experience it makes our day! 
::end highjack::

you mean the "Ametop" cream...or Magic cream thats a localized anesthetic??

You had to buy that stuff?? wow.

I have had a number of blood tests done in the UK and never once have they worn gloves. In fact we were all placed in cubicles so I dont even know if they washed their hands before. The only time I have noticed gloves during treatment was for a smear test.

you mean the "Ametop" cream...or Magic cream thats a localized anesthetic??

You had to buy that stuff?? wow.

that's the stuff!  Yeah, and since it was not on our health care's formulary I had to pay $40 for a small tube-after I asked the pediatrician to write a script for it.
Luckily I had some tegaderm left over from our NG tube days to place over it. 
The ward Sister must have thought I was nuts as I kept thanking her for placing the cream on my daughter's arms...

You can buy Emla over the counter here.  I have.  I used to use it before having a wax in a salon.

do you have to wash the cream off b/f waxing? 

No. You just rub it in about 45 minutes before the waxing appointment.

it absorbed by the skin and localizes the area so it doesn't hurt...I love that stuff...it makes blood taking so much easier really. I cannot believe health worker not wearing gloves ( I mean I do believe you I just don't believe that they could be so careless)

I hate it when I get made to be a careless shmuck for wanting to wear them for procedures.grrr!!!

alicia-  i will definitely ask next time (politely) that the nurse don gloves.  hopefully she/he won't be offended.
i was told that the antiseptic cream b/f putting the needle was in case they didn't get in the vein the first time and had to try again.  something involved in the skin having 'germs'.