Susan Bellefeuille and her daughter Casandra are finding it very difficult to cope with the death of their mother and grandmother, Anna Zsots. Not just because she passed away -- but because of what they believe was lax hygiene -- at the hospital where she spent her final days.

"When they changed her diaper they would throw it on the ground," Casandra told CTV News.

Zsots was 74-years-old when she entered the Brantford General Hospital in southwestern Ontario in January, very ill with pneumonia. With treatment, her lungs cleared up, but -- as with many older, sick patients -- she developed infections. She tested positive for two bacterial infections now common to hospitals: MRSA, which is tough to contain, and C. Difficile.

That detection was supposed to trigger strict infection control measures, common to all Canadian hospitals. Staff and visitors alike were supposed to wash before entering Mrs. Zsots room, put on gloves and gowns, then dispose of them and wash again before they left.

"The cleaning lady would come in and change the garbage -- no gloves, no gown. They're handling this and then exposing it to the other patients," said Casandra.

Casandra told CTV News family members were at the hospital bedside night and day without wearing any protective clothing -- touching and caring for Mrs. Zsots -- as she became gravely ill. She said no one at the hospital told them her grandmother had bacterial infections, or how infectious they were.

"The one day I actually cleaned fecal matter out of her nails because the nurses clearly hadn't done that. It was all over her hands and nails," she said. "It was just so lax and laid back. They should have been sitting down with us and explaining how serious this was."

"You can see why these outbreaks are happening," said daughter Susan. "The education isn't there."

Thousands of other families may have similar stories to tell about hospitals across Canada. Statistics show that infectious diseases acquired in hospitals now kill as many Canadians per year as AIDS, breast cancer and car accidents combined. Several studies have shown hospital infection controls could be vastly improved -- citing inadequate housekeeping and lax hygiene by staff.

"Surveys have shown that many of the front-line staff don't have enough basic training in infection prevention and control," said Dr. Andrew Simor, one of Canada's foremost infection control experts, from Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

CTV News took a hidden camera into another Ontario hospital -- where patients recently died infected with C. difficile -- to see if strict disease control rules were being followed there. Several patients there are still battling the bacterial infection.

We found rooms with signs posted outside the doors, warning staff and visitors to stop, wash, and put on gowns and gloves. We also watched as several people went in and out of those rooms, many without following the protocols.

Outside one patient's room, we saw a caregiver walk right past the stop sign without putting on gloves or a gown. Another came and went several times, without washing. He wore gloves, but not a gown. At one point, he also took the patient with the infection out for a walk down the hall.

"I think there needs to be a culture change within our health care facilities that says if you're not washing your hands, if you are not using gowns and gloves appropriately, that needs to be addressed," said Dr. Simor. "We know what should be done. We need to do a better job of doing it consistently."

"It is so busy. Staff are really pushed to the limit," added Ruth Gratton, an infection control practitioner at Brantford General -- the hospital where Anna Zsots died.

"Hand washing is generally done poorly," she admitted. "And because we have these other organisms out there that we want to make sure are not transmitted, we are expecting more of people. So we have to do the training."

CTV News asked her what she would say to relatives like Susan and Casandra Bellefeuille, who felt they were kept in the dark and left unprotected.

"Well, actually, I'm disappointed they didn't get the information they required," Gratton said.

"It makes me very angry. Very, very angry," said Casandra. "We were the family. We deserved to know."

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