Hospital told to overhaul cleaning team

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) carried out a pre-arranged visit to the hospital over two days last month.

Inspectors said toilets and bathrooms on one ward were not clean and found a discarded swab and noted a lack of waste bins in some toilets.

On the same ward, it was also reported that there were no hand hygiene facilities at the staff exit where dirty linen and waste were removed.

Spot checks revealed stained mattresses on some wards and it was revealed that while staff on some wards check mattresses, others do not.

Inspectors also found that routine checks on patient trolley mattresses are not carried out.

High dust levels were found on another ward. Inspectors were also told by hospital staff that curtains and blinds are not changed once a patient is discharged from an isolation room.

In the labour suite, discoloured ceiling tiles and air vents required cleaning.

Also, on some wards the inspection team found that clinical preparation rooms were not equipped with hand wash sinks.

Inspectors interviewed 11 patients who said they felt the hospital was clean.

They issued three requirements, including making sure the appropriate numbers of cleaning staff are available when needed, that policies in the infection control manual are kept up to date and that ageing buildings are maintained to minimise the risk of spreading infection.

Inspectors issued an action plan which gives the hospital eight weeks to improve standards, including ensuring there is “adequate allocation of domestic staff to meet the needs of all areas in the hospital”.

HEI chief inspector Susan Brimelow said: “The inspection team also found that further improvement is required in the maintenance of ageing buildings, thorough risk assessment of the healthcare environment and ensuring appropriate levels of cleaning staff are made available when needed.”

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