Shunji Kato
As more hospitals began to forbid bringing fresh flowers into their facilities in order to prevent epidemics, it was found that recovering of flower demand is called for by taking measures against infections disease, according to the survey conducted by the Japanese Flower Auction Association. Some flower shops were forced to withdraw from the hospitals. As flowers are said to have an effect to heal minds, the Japanese Flower Auction Association took this situations seriously, and began investigating the current state of flower shops and planning improvement measures.
The survey concerning bringing natural flowers to hospitals was conducted this spring to the 124 markets nationwide. The replies so far are from 558 intermediate wholesalers and retail stores of 25 markets including main markets in Sapporo, Tokyo, Hanshin and Kyusyu. Asked “whether you have been refused to bring in fresh flowers to the hospital, or whether you have heard such stories from customers,” there were 343 replies saying “yes,” which accounts for 60 percent of the replies. There were 108 replies saying “I’ve heard of the flower shops which were forced to withdraw from the hospitals.”
The situations regarding bringing flowers into hospitals vary according to the regions. In Kyushu, even if we look at only those hospitals that specified their names, 74 hospitals out of 98 allow people to bring in flowers. In Kansai, on the other hand, 47 hospitals, which accounts for 40 percent, are found to prohibit bringing in flowers or selling them in the hospital.
As for this tendency, Susumu Onishi, president of a flower wholesale dealer Naniwa Hana Ichiba in the Osaka Tsurumi Wholesale Flower Market, which plays a leading role in solving this issue, said, “although the situation is different according to the region, this is not the problem of only Kansai.” In regard to effective measures, Onishi said, “probably some hospitals are capable of sitting at the negotiating table to improve the way flowers are treated.” With better hygienic control, he will look for ways to “recover the lost demand.”
Behind the prohibition of bringing fresh flowers into the hospitals, there is the possibility that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can be the cause of infection, exists in the flowers or water in the vase. To recover the demand, new measures or suggestions are needed that can show the fresh flowers’ effect of healing patients’ minds, as well as providing better hygienic control.
So, with the help of the Japanese Flower Auction Association, Naniwa Hana Ichiba is hoping to find a clue to suggest improvement plans by investigating the current status of flower shops still open in the hospitals or the measures taken by each hospital. The specific measures “will motivate the flower shops,” said Onishi, expecting recovery of the demand.
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According to JA Zenkouren, National Welfare Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, there’s no clear rule regarding bringing in fresh flowers in the Kouseiren hospitals, and the situation is different in each hospital. The corporate planning department of JA Zenkouren said, “We admit the flowers’ effect of healing minds, but weak patients right after surgery, for example, are prone to infections. Some people have flower allergies. We’d appreciate it if you could follow the rules of each hospital,” and asked for people’s understating of the situation.
(Sept. 26, 2014)