Concerns raised by inspectors over 'dirty' hospital

Tuesday 4th October  Herald first edition  P4

Concerns raised by inspectors over 'dirty' hospital  DIRTY equipment and dusty floors found in the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow raised "significant concerns" over cleanliness, inspectors have said. The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) reported finding dirty toilet seats and commodes, blood spots on blood monitoring machines and a dirty defibrillator during a visit to the hospital in August.

Inspectors also found "large amounts" of dust in several departments and wards, and noted that cleaning was "poor".

In ward 10, there was thick dust under beds and floors were dusty throughout while there was also a puddle of fluid on the floor beside one of the toilets.

A follow-up visit shortly afterwards revealed "significant improvements" in the cleanliness of patient equipment but found little improvement in environmental cleaning.

Susan Brimelow, HEI chief inspector, said: "Further improvement is required in relation to cleaning of the hospital environment and patient equipment, and staff need to have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in maintaining a clean environment.

"We expect that these requirements will be addressed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and the necessary improvements made, as a matter of priority."

Rory Farrelly, the health board's acute director of nursing, said: "Clearly there are areas with our cleaning routines and estates management which need to be addressed.

"Immediate remedial actions have been taken to address the issues in the report which will ensure greater consistency in service delivery."

Reproduced with permission of The Herald and Times Group.