NHS 'hygiene standards struggle'

The BBC reports today that NHS trusts in England are struggling to meet key hygiene standards, according to data submitted to the NHS watchdog.

A quarter of the trusts report they are not complying with one of the three standards relating to the hygiene code, covering areas including cleanliness.

A spokesman for Patient Concern said: "This is terrible. It is bad news for patients and shows trusts are not getting the basics right."

In total there are , covering everything from clinical effectivness to governance.

England's 394 trusts self-declare how they are doing against 24 core NHS standards, which then help determine their overall NHS rating.

The Healthcare Commission now has to verify the data by cross-checking the information against its own intelligence, audits and surveys by other organisations and through a system of targeted spot-checks.

Trusts did best in meeting standards covering professional codes of practice, whistle-blowing and openness.

There was also a rise in the number of trusts reporting they met the two standards relating to compliance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which issues advice on new treatments.

But with the three standards that relate to hygiene, compliance had fallen.

In particular, on reducing the risk of infection, 14% said they had failed, up from 7% last year.
A similar number said they could not say they decontaminated equipment properly - up from 12.6%.

TRUSTS FAILING ALL HYGIENE STANDARDS

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Sheffield Primary Care Trust
Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust
Wiltshire Primary Care Trust

Over one in 10 did not meet cleanliness standards either.

It meant that 99 trusts - one in four of the total - were not meeting the hygiene code.