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It’s strange how things we once took for granted can easily become just a memory from the past. Take flowers in hospitals, for instance. Along with grapes, they used to be the standard gift to take or send someone who was ill. Not so any more. Most hospital wards do not allow fresh flowers. They can be unhygienic. And there’s the problem with water in the vase – it tends to spill.
The equivalent today is a display of artificial flowers. Fortunately many of them, especially those made from silk, look extremely realistic. You can buy them at many of the better gift shops, or try a website like www.afriendinneed.co.uk, which specialises in sending gifts to your friends and family while they’re in hospital.
It never ceases to amaze me how so many visitors to hospitals still haven’t cottoned on to the problem of MRSA.
Now that medical science has realised just how serious MRSA is, hospitals have procedures for preventing the spread of the disease, or at least reducing the risk. This is why medical staff wear disposable gloves and gowns if they have physical contact with a patient, and always carefully wash their hands afterwards.
But they’re not the only ones who can spread MRSA. Visitors to the hospital – who will probably come into physical contact with the patient they’re visiting – can spread it too. That’s why all visitors are asked to wash their hands or rub them with alcohol gel before entering and after leaving a ward. Sometimes they may also be asked to wear a disposable gown and gloves.
It’s really not much to ask, is it? But all too often I see visitors who come and go without even applying any alcohol gel to their hands. This really is irresponsible. Please can we all make a big effort here?
And if putting alcoholic gel on your hands is a step too far, how about sending the patient a present instead of visiting them?
They may not appear on our website, but two extra helpers regularly assist us (and sometimes hinder us!) as we handle your orders and wrap up the gifts we send to people in hospital. They are Dusty, our dog, and Ziggy, our cat.
Their roles are rather different. Ziggy supervises the wrapping: she ensures each gift is wrapped neatly and looks like the kind of present we would all want to receive. Then Dusty takes over. Ever anxious for a walk, she makes sure we post the parcels on time.
Summer is the worst time of year to be ill, but not a bad time to be convalescing after an illness or an accident. If you’re lying in bed, whether in a hospital or at home, it’s very difficult to appreciate Summer, even when the weather is not as good as it might be. You just feel you should be out, enjoying the sun. Convalescing in the garden on a pleasant Summer day, however, can be just the tonic that the patient needs.
We can’t do much to influence when our friends and family fall ill or have accidents, but we can try to help make their period of recuperation as enjoyable as we can. The occasional visit is ideal but not always possible. Sending a letter or a card or a gift – or all three – is usually the next best thing. And at this time of year it’s best to find things that are especially appropriate for the warmer weather and the long Summer evenings. You can get some good ideas from www.afriendinneed.co.uk
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