Universal precautions...not so universal

I've had my blood drawn twice in the past three days at two different places (affiliated with NHS England). At both places (my regular doctor's office and a community hospital) the person drawing my blood did not wear any gloves and did not apply an alcohol wipe to cleanse the area where the needle was to be inserted. In the first place I went into (community hospital) they had me rest my arm on a pillow with dried blood on it (and not mine).
I asked the women at the doctor's office about the alcohol wipe and she said they don't have any because they found that when the needle is inserted it stings.

I was concerned about the lack of universal precautions for myself to some extent, but mostly for the other person. Having worked at a day treatment center for young children prior to my move to the Uk, using gloves was deemed as absolutely essential (by the health dept. and licensing) when handling any body fluids or if there was even a risk of coming into contact with any.

I did phone up the NHS direct line and was put through to a helpful person. She said that in the UK they do not have to wear gloves when drawing blood because "there is no risk" involved. She said gloves should be worn when having teeth worked on or if one has an open wound. She said gloves could be requested if you were in a hospital - but you'd have to request it.

Just wondered what other people's experiences have been.

I had a nurse try to work on an recently closed wound (removing a drainage tube after surgery) and she started to do it with no gloves.  I made her stop, wash her hands and put on gloves.

And you can request gloves when drawing blood.  I've done it before.

you can request for the practitioner to put on gloves..it can be a greater risk for the practitioner than the patient not to do so.

As for the alcohol wiping the site area beforehand ..I've been told not to do so because it cause the venipuncture to hurt more , the wipes don't exactly provide adequate skin sterilization and with some patients if you wipe the area with a cold alcohol wipe it can cause the vessel to constrict which may make blood collection even harder.

I wear gloves because I deal with children and don't sit still or may lash out.

I remember when I first started working in hospital here and used gloves for personal care of patients as was told in US hospitals and getting told off for not providing therapeutic care. One of the hospitals I've worked in the US wanted us to use gloves even if we were brushing a patient's hair! I'm still shocked how some nurses don't wear a pair of gloves when encountering fluids ..I always carry a bulk amount in my pockets ..doctors are the worst sometimes when they make their ward rounds...call me nurse ratchet I don't care but I fling a pair in between them and the patient

dude, i want anybody touching me in a healthcare situtation to be in one of those full-body condoms from 'naked gun' 

I'm soooooo glad someone brought this topic up!  I have yet to see someone wearing gloves to draw blood, etc, and have gotten a few funny looks when I request that they do.  I also don't notice as much handwashing.  When I was in nursing school in the US, if you ever went into a patient's room and did not go directly to the sink before doing things like dressing changes, you might as well go home because the clinical instructor was not going to be happy.  Everytime I have been examined, had blood drawn etc, this isn't done and I have to request that they wash their hands.  They may have done it before entering the room, but things such as doorknobs get touched between Point A and Point B.I would think it is just as much for their protection as mine; they have no clue if I have some little bug that I'm not disclosing.

I have had both gloves and no gloves here while taking blood work here in Plymouth.... I am always swabbed down with alcohol after the needle is removed.  The needle is always carried in a sterile tube, which goes into my vein without anything or anyone touching it. The vials used to collect the sample itself are also sterile.  Everyting is then disposed of in a nice yellow bin with Hazardous Waste on it.
Are the gloves that have been carried around in pockets or left out in boxes   in a DR's office/hospital environment any less sterile than cleaned hands? 

My GP nurses always wash their hands first and after.  I can't tell about the hospital as I have only been there twice and seen 4 different nurses for blood samples all which carried out different  ways of taking blood. 

Certainly in a case of an open wound or something like Cait's I would also insist on gloves.

Remember hygiene is just as big of an issue in the US as in the UK.  MRSA and the like still kill people in both places.

I do think it was a bit strange to see people not wearing gloves for every single thing, but I just figure I will ask if I feel like I need too.

If you ask in a polite way and simply tell them you'd feel more confortable if they please put on gloves I don't think too many people would be upset.

As for the thing with the pillow...I'd have reported that because there is no excuse for that.

I carry a bottle of hand gel ..I do wash my hands when I enter and leave the ward or toilets , etc but also use hand gel a lot! When I check for observations we have one dynamap per bay so I give it a good hearty wipe before I start and with each patient use ..what I do is wash my hands when I enter the bay , then in between patients I use the gel.

 I remember crap surgeons in the US dropping their tools in surgery picking them up and continuing their procedure (when that happens the clinical guideline is to leave the theatre , regown and use a new sterilie tool)  or refusing to wear face masks in surgery so they are breathing into the open wound

There was a study done a few years back regarding using alcohol for injections/venepuntcutre.  One group used acohol properly (fully swabbing, letting it air dry etc), the other group didn't use anything and a third group gave injections through clothing. They found very little difference in outcomes.  I don't have the stats with me, so can't quote accurately, but the consensus was that there wasn't a lot in it.

If you don't let the alcohol dry, there is no therapeutic effect and I have rarely seen anyone wait that long between preparing an area and puncturing the skin.  Just in my NHS experience.

A nurse once told me that they wear gloves to protect themselves more than to protect the patient because it is very unlikely anything can happen to the patient.

I still feel better when they wear gloves though.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=17299.0

I had the same questions about a year ago.... I now ask them politely to put on gloves.  They probably snicker behind my back and just think- crazy paranoid american but i don't care.

As I stated in the previous thread we are finding the blood drawing experience better here than in the states.  What good are gloves if they rip the fingers out of them to feel for a vein (as they used to do in Texas)?

As I stated in the previous thread we are finding the blood drawing experience better here than in the states.  What good are gloves if they rip the fingers out of them to feel for a vein (as they used to do in Texas)?

It's a classic example of what people are used to and what happens when they move somewhere else.

I have had 100% better care here than in Atlanta...it really is a bit of a gamble and a matter of finding the right fit for you and your family.  I always felt that both my care and my mothers care were very much led by the idea of getting the most out of the HMO or in her case Tricare and Medicare. Dad's always been with the military or VA so I guess that's why I am more used to a "socialized" care system. 

I just love my GPs office and staff so much I will find it hard if I move to leave that level of care. So I understand if you had really great Dr. in the USA how it must be strange and difficult to move.   I wish everyone could find someone they like and feel comfortable with. 

There are things that are a bit different... but I just go along iwth the flow and question if I don't understand something.  Questions in a polite and not holier than thou way go a long way.

There's a significant and growing problem with latex allergy with healthcare staff being among the most vulnerable. If they can't show any benefit to wearing gloves in a particular situation then they shouldn't do so.

Most healthcare workers wear latex-free gloves.

I used to work in a Children's hospital.  There were hand-gel dispensers all over the place and the only gloves available were latex free.

Come to think of it.. I have been asked by the Nurses that did use gloves if I was allergic to latex...

again my experiences have only been at my GP and at the Day Maternity Unit where glove wearing has been 50-50.  Mostly just on one hand ....