NHS Fail To Meet Cleanliness Checks
December 15th 2005
Many English hospitals are failing to meet cleanliness standards, according to a shock report today. As many as two thirds of hospitals failed inspections by the the Healthcare Commission.
The findings are particularly damning as inspectors used unannounced spot checks to test claims that hospitals are getting cleaner. Official league tables are based on self-assessment.
Inspectors concluded that all but 33 hospitals had room for improvement. Some 100 hospitals were inspected.
Some of the worst offenders were psychiatric hospitals and private hospitals.
The investigation failed to find evidence that private contractors were to blame for poor cleanliness. Instead they pointed to overall working relationships, regardless of whether cleaners were employed in-house or not.
Dr Paul Grime, chair of the British Medical Association’s occupational health committee, said: "Too many of these hospitals are falling short.
"It is particularly worrying that, despite patients’ concerns high numbers of hospitals have not set up robust cleaning systems. And the fact that some mental health hospitals have seriously poor levels of cleanliness paints a disturbing picture.
"It is also vital to remember that a clean hospital does not necessarily equate to low rates of hospital acquired infections. We must ensure that as well as general
cleanliness, the presence of MRSA and other harmful bacteria are carefully monitored."
However the department of health claimed the research had specifically targeted the worst performers in the NHS.
Health minister Jane Kennedy said £130 million was to spend on refurbishing psychiatric hospitals.
She promised more action to improve psychiatric hospitals.
She added: "90 per cent of NHS acute hospitals had high standards of cleanliness or were considered not dirty, suggesting massive improvements."
Simon Gillespie, head of operations at the Healthcare Commission, said: "There were too many organisations with unacceptable levels of cleanliness, predominantly in mental health facilities which is particularly distressing.
"I wouldn’t want to go to one of these worst hospitals. The bottom line is walking into an organisation and your feet sticking to the floor because it hasn’t been cleaned adequately, smelling the toilets some way before you can see them, urinals encrusted with limescale and urine is really pretty horrible."
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