Hospital not clean enough says report

9:05am Tuesday 1st July 2008

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PRINCESS Alexandra Hospital is failing to meet government standards on hygiene, a watchdog has said.

The hospital is one of a handful of hospitals not meeting guidelines on infection control and cleanliness, according to a new Healthcare Commission reort.

But a member of the patients’ council says there has been a marked improvement in tackling infection, and that the number of people dying from so-called superbugs has dropped dramatically.

The Healthcare Commission data is based on information provided by the 391 health trusts in England, and covers a range of core standards set out by the government.

Princess Alexandra Hospital, in Harlow, was found to be compliant in 17 of 24 areas including safety, dignity in care and hospital food.

But it was one of only 20 health trusts which failed in two of the three standards relating to hygiene.

One highlighted keeping patients and staff safe by “having systems to ensure the risk of healthcare acquired infection to patients is reduced, with particular emphasis on high standards of hygiene and cleanliness, achieving year-on-year reductions in MRSA.”

The other refers to providing an “environment which promotes effective care and optimises health outcomes by being well-designed and well-maintained with cleanliness levels in clinical and non-clinical areas that meet the national specification for clean NHS premises.”

The hospital did, however, satisfy the rules around the decontamination of equipment.

Only North Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust failed on all three hygiene standards.

Roy Workman, 70, of Chigwell Lane, in Loughton, who sits on Princess Alex-andra Hospital’s pat-ients’ council, says the report will help drive up standards, but did not reflect the progress made by the hospital.

He said: “There’s no doubt in my mind there have been great improvements in infection control. It has been achieved by better education of staff, and an increased emphasis on hand washing.

“There has been a significant reduction MRSA and C-Diff cases here since the turn of the year.

“There’s still work to do, and I think the chief executive will admit that, but there is a feeling we are moving in the right direction.”

A Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust spokes-man said the trust had been complaint with the infection control standard from Sept-ember 2007, but had to dec-lare itself in the ‘insufficient assurance’ category in the healthcare environment and hygiene standard because it could not provide the “specialist evidence” required.

He said it had ended the year with 22 cases of MRSA, and the ‘trajectory’ target from the Essex Strategic Health Authority was 13.

Trust chief executive Chris Pocklington said it had taken an “honest and open approach” to scoring itself, that it had seen a “dramatic reduction” in MRSA cases, and that it continues to “stay well under the threshold” for Clostridium Difficile cases.

He said £500,000 has been invested into cleaning, and plans were underway to “refurbish our infection-control capacity.”

“I want our local population to know about, and be proud of the huge improvements in infection control we have made in their hospital, and to be confident about their care should they need to join us as patients.”