What happens in hospital once Clostridium difficile is detected?
Within hospital, if Clostridium difficile colitis is detected, i.e. you have diarrhoea and are toxin positive, you will be moved to a single room to be isolated if one is available. This is to ensure that potential spread of the infection is limited. The nurses will wear aprons and gloves while attending to you and will be required to wash their hands before and after contact with you, your bed linen and soiled items. A commode or toilet will be allocated for your individual use in certain situations. Where there are several people with the same infection it may be necessary to nurse patients of the same sex in the same bay. If no single room is available, the same principle will be applied around your bed area on the ward.
