28 November 2008
By Julie Read
Patients' groups have reacted with anger to the finding that the vast majority of acute hospitals failed a hygiene and cleanliness spot check.
Only 5 out of 51 acute hospital trusts in England were given a completely clean bill of health by the Healthcare Commission after a series of unannounced inspections.
The watchdog found the majority failed to meet standards introduced to fight hospital infections such as MRSA and C difficile, although most had improved in general cleanliness.
Katherine Murphy, director of the Patients Association, said patient safety should be the primary concern of every trust board in the country.
'It is wrong that the additional costs generated by having to deal with health care-acquired infections has a detrimental affect on the funding of other areas of health care,' she added.
The Healthcare Commission said that while most of the failures did not pose an immediate risk to patients, almost all the trusts had to do more to control the spread of infections. Only five were adhering in full to the government's hygiene code, which came into force as part of the Health Act 2006.
Just over half failed to keep all areas clean and well maintained, the watchdog said. In areas where breaches did cause a serious risk – Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust – managers were told to take immediate action.
Commission chief executive Anna Walker said it was clear the NHS was paying close attention to infection prevention but there were still 'gaps that need closing'.
From April, the new Care Quality Commission will have the authority to impose fines on trusts that fail hygiene standards.
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