SZ column “Auf Station”: Washing – but not everywhere for the sick! – Ebersberg

Some time ago, one of my colleagues brought a patient his first meal in our intensive care unit when he rang the bell a little later. “Excuse me, but is that pork?” The colleague checked: Yes, it was pork – something that the patient could not eat because of his faith, being a Muslim.

I always find it interesting how the culture and religion of our patients affect care. There are religions in which sick people are not washed all over their bodies. Only hands and feet are allowed. Or a different washing ritual must be observed in the morning than in the evening. Or only running water may be used for washing – this is the case, for example, in Islam or in orthodox Judaism.

I know all this from theory. In practice, I’ve never had to use it. Of course, it also has to be considered that our intensive care patients are very ill, many of them cannot be spoken to, so we don’t find out about such requests. If we knew about it, we would of course try to take it into account as best we can.

On the other hand, what is always an issue in practice is our visiting hours. In some other cultures there is no such thing – also because relatives are responsible for care there, i.e. making the bed, personal hygiene, going to the toilet or eating. The clinic staff only takes care of the medical care. It is clear that a one-hour visit a day is not enough.

Intensive care specialist Pola Gülberg from the Ebersberger district clinic.

(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)

It’s not always easy to reconcile our day-to-day work in the clinic and cultural differences. We try, because anything else would be disrespectful. However, it is also important that we inform patients and relatives about our usual procedures. Because these are often not clear to them – if you don’t know something, you can’t understand it and adapt to it.

The food issue is usually the easiest to solve. Since our clinic has its own kitchen, it is usually not a problem to accommodate requests: pork-free, fish-free, vegetarian – everything is possible. We were also able to organize a different menu for our patient, who received a pork dish as the standard menu that day. For future meals we noted that he eats pork free.

However, it becomes difficult with kosher food. But here, too, a conversation with the relatives helps: If no exception is conceivable, then after consultation with a doctor, they can prepare appropriate meals at home and bring them over.

Pola Gülberg is an intensive care nurse. In this column, the 38-year-old talks about her work at the district clinic in Ebersberg every week. The collected texts are below sueddeutsche.de/thema/Auf Station to find.

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