Should RNs do housekeeping job or is it our job?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

:angryfire Wanted to ask if anyone experienced similar situation and how the issue was handled. 1st of all let me mention that I work for a huge hospital that is considered to be one of the top hospitals in the nation, but it seems like there are some holes in the system that no one seem to notice. The issue I have is with the hospital's housekeeping. It appears to me that they make up their own policies. Last weekend I had a really sick patient who had vomited approximately 2.5-3 liters of green bile emesis all over floor and his bed. I had never seen anything like that! He was the 1st patient I saw coming on my shift. I Helped pt get washed and called housekeeping. Well when housekeeping came they refused to clean the room. Making it very clear that they don't clean up messes like that-it's nurses job to clean. What they can do is wipe the floor when it's clean, so it will be disinfected. I spend at least an hour on my knees and used up almost half of our supply of pink pads and towels to dry everything up. It was only after pt had 2 more of episodes of projectile vomiting each approximately 1-2 liters of emesis that the MD gave me an ok to put in NGT. My point is having 8 very sick patients that night and spending all shift cleaning up messes and with no help from anyone else, should it be our job to clean up? I am not talking a little mess here-that takes few seconds to clean up, but a time consuming accidents. I had a similar episode maybe a year ago, when a pt had diarrhea and missed the toilet. The diarrhea explosion was all over the floor and bathtub. I was 9 mo pregnant at that time and was told I have to clean it up myself. I brought that up with management last time and was told its not housekeeping job, but ours. Also we don't have any cleaning supply on the floor and must use pt's bed linen like pink pads and towels to clean up. Anyone had similar situations? I don't think it's fair that other pts have to miss out on hours of care and get their meds hours late because their nurse is cleaning someone's room. Any input is welcome! Thank you.:imbar

what are they there for if they don't clean up messes? universal precautions should be practced anyway so what is the big deal about blood and vomit?

0 Votes

what are they there for if they don't clean up messes? universal precautions should be practced anyway so what is the big deal about blood and vomit?

0 Votes
Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
what are they there for if they don't clean up messes? universal precautions should be practced anyway so what is the big deal about blood and vomit?

Well, they do make minimum wage and it would be hard pressed to keep staff should they be on poop and vomit cleaning. Best leave that to the college graduates. :)

0 Votes
Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
what are they there for if they don't clean up messes? universal precautions should be practced anyway so what is the big deal about blood and vomit?

Well, they do make minimum wage and it would be hard pressed to keep staff should they be on poop and vomit cleaning. Best leave that to the college graduates. :)

0 Votes

Ha, come to Canada where some of the housekeeping staff make about 2$ an hour less than new RNs! Maybe that's why we expect them to actually work for their paycheques....

0 Votes

Ha, come to Canada where some of the housekeeping staff make about 2$ an hour less than new RNs! Maybe that's why we expect them to actually work for their paycheques....

0 Votes

Amen to that tweety. is this what i have to look forward to? i haven't even started college yet!! during my hospital visits... (psych ward) i remember house keeping cleaning. but, in one facility in charlotte, nc we, the patients, did just about it all. i remember we had to make our own beds, wash our own clothes (to be expected).... but like dirty towells and sheets... we actually had to take them down to wherever they needed to be so that housekeeping could wash them. in this nc, facility, and the sc ones.... i don't really remember seeing housekeeping all that much. although, in sc, housekeeping came in every day to clean the bathrooms and sanitize. don't remember that in nc. they vacumed and swept, all the things a maid does. i think the purpose of the patients doing some of this work was responsiblity, etc.

but there was one occasion where a girl got sick..... and... the nurses didn't clean it. housekeeping did.

did my input help any or only make things worse?? *giggle*

0 Votes

Amen to that tweety. is this what i have to look forward to? i haven't even started college yet!! during my hospital visits... (psych ward) i remember house keeping cleaning. but, in one facility in charlotte, nc we, the patients, did just about it all. i remember we had to make our own beds, wash our own clothes (to be expected).... but like dirty towells and sheets... we actually had to take them down to wherever they needed to be so that housekeeping could wash them. in this nc, facility, and the sc ones.... i don't really remember seeing housekeeping all that much. although, in sc, housekeeping came in every day to clean the bathrooms and sanitize. don't remember that in nc. they vacumed and swept, all the things a maid does. i think the purpose of the patients doing some of this work was responsiblity, etc.

but there was one occasion where a girl got sick..... and... the nurses didn't clean it. housekeeping did.

did my input help any or only make things worse?? *giggle*

0 Votes

This thread is slightly annoying to me. While I am willing to do just about anything to be a nurse, I do have to wonder, as others have, exactly what is the dang point of housekeeping? When Trey was in the hospital, it literally took them 2 or 3 minutes to sweep through his room doing their crap. There were cobwebs in the corner....no one bothered with those (and that's a big pet peeve of mine....eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww).

Also, CNA's don't make all that much more than the housekeeping staff around here and I would bet that the housekeepers at the hospital probably make MORE than the CNA's at some of the LTC facilities around here. I say it's housekeepings job BUT again if it's policy somewhere for the nurses to do it, I would suck it up and do it.

When I had my babies, the nurses only cleaned up what they had to in order to get the baby and me comfortable and then housekeeping came right up and cleaned the rest...mopped the blood, etc.

0 Votes

This thread is slightly annoying to me. While I am willing to do just about anything to be a nurse, I do have to wonder, as others have, exactly what is the dang point of housekeeping? When Trey was in the hospital, it literally took them 2 or 3 minutes to sweep through his room doing their crap. There were cobwebs in the corner....no one bothered with those (and that's a big pet peeve of mine....eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww).

Also, CNA's don't make all that much more than the housekeeping staff around here and I would bet that the housekeepers at the hospital probably make MORE than the CNA's at some of the LTC facilities around here. I say it's housekeepings job BUT again if it's policy somewhere for the nurses to do it, I would suck it up and do it.

When I had my babies, the nurses only cleaned up what they had to in order to get the baby and me comfortable and then housekeeping came right up and cleaned the rest...mopped the blood, etc.

0 Votes
Specializes in Renal, Haemo and Peritoneal.

Just refuse to do the cleaning up! Obviously as a human courtesy you would get rid of some bulk but if your patients have a higher need then you are neglecting your job by neglecting them.

This is a difficult situation which won't be resolved until nurses tand up for themselves. I say "I have no training in mopping or wiping" "I have no access to cleaning tools"

In short, do what's right but stick up for yourself, did you get a uni degree to mop up?!

0 Votes
Specializes in Renal, Haemo and Peritoneal.

Just refuse to do the cleaning up! Obviously as a human courtesy you would get rid of some bulk but if your patients have a higher need then you are neglecting your job by neglecting them.

This is a difficult situation which won't be resolved until nurses tand up for themselves. I say "I have no training in mopping or wiping" "I have no access to cleaning tools"

In short, do what's right but stick up for yourself, did you get a uni degree to mop up?!

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment