'Three months to clean up wards'

Dirty hospitals are costing lives

Hospitals have been given until April to improve hygiene - or face a visit from a government "hit squad".

Squalid conditions in the wards and clinics of many hospitals have been detailed in several reports.

The government provided £31m last summer to pay for a nationwide clean-up, but the results of a recent NHS survey suggest there are still more than 250 hospitals not making the grade in "basic cleanliness".

It has been suggested that poor hygeine is at least contributory in the rising number of hospital acquired infections.

These are reckoned to cost thousands of lives each year, and cost the NHS millions by prolonging hospital stays.

However, ministers have now demanded that the problem be solved within three months.

Inspections

Those hospitals which do not pass checks at that point could face inspection by the Commission for Health Improvement.

We want results in cleaning up our hospitals and we expect people to deliver

Department of Health spokesman

This body, set up the government last year, has the power, in extreme circumstances, to recommend the removal of NHS hospital trust boards.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We want results in cleaning up our hospitals and we expect people to deliver.

"If they do not, we will send in our health inspectorate."

The NHS hygiene survey, revealed in the magazine Health Service Journal, chronicled many examples of poor hygiene practice, including dirty linen, untidy wards, uncollected rubbish and food trays not removed for days.

In one case, there were even pigeons - known disease harbourers - left flapping around a canteen.

The BBC programme "Health Watchdog" used hidden cameras to reveal shocking conditions at hospitals.

Its findings will be broadcast next week.

NHS warning

Stephen Thornton, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health authorities and trusts, has warned that a government target of £1billion efficiency savings in the NHS could undermine efforts to clean up hospitals.

He said: "Cash-releasing efficiencies are more difficult to find and the tendency is that you find them in support services."

However, Nigel Crisp, the NHS chief executive, said hospital cleanliness was one of the priorities laid down in the NHS Plan.

He said: "I expect to see increased investment in services like cleaning in hospitals."

Improving the environment

In another initiative, the King's Fund, an independent health think tank is offering grants of £35,000 to dozens of hospitals to encourage projects to "enhance the healing environment".

These could range from refurbishment to the introduction of artworks or landscaping.

King's Fund chief executive Rabbi Julia Neuberger said: "Many hospitals need to clean up and improve what can be drab, dated and depressing departments.

"Improving them can have a positive impact on staff morale and people's health."

The first wave of hospitals to benefit are all in the London area.