90% of hospitals fail superbug spot checks

Startling spot checks have found that 90% of hospitals are failing to comply with hygiene standards.

The Health Commission carried out spot checks on 51 NHS trusts to check they have implemented the Government’s hygiene code.

They found that nine out of 10 were failing to meet the rules set by the government to control the spread of superbugs. MRSA kills 2,000 hospital patients each year.

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One in five was not decontaminating mattresses and surgical instruments properly, one in eight didn’t have the facility to isolate infected patients to stop bugs spreading, and some wards were too cluttered to clean properly.

The Healthcare Commission was forced to intervene in three trusts where standards were so low that patients were being put at risk and actions were taken to rectify the problems.

They were Bromley Hospitals in Kent, Ipswich Hospitals in Suffolk, and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals in West Surrey.

Only five of the hospitals spot checked were found to be meeting the regulations set, which were Barking, Havering and Redbridge; Kingston Hospital; Leeds Teaching Hospital; St George’s Healthcare; and St Helen’s and Knowsley Hospital.

Despite the findings, there are overall improvements in tackling superbugs with falling rates of MRSA and C.Difficile.