Hospital clean-up success

Inspectors found 42 hospitals failed to meet basic hygiene standards

Every hospital found to have unacceptable standards of hygiene earlier this year has now cleaned up its act, government checks have revealed.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced on Wednesday that the latest round of spot-check inspections has shown a huge improvement in hospital cleanliness.

Hospital clean-up

Autumn 2000:
Red 253
Yellow 298
Green 162

Spring 2001:
Red 42
Yellow 368
Green 279

Autumn 2001:
Red 0
Yellow 380
Green 307

In the last round of checks carried out in April, 42 hospitals were given a red light grade, indicating a poor level of hygiene.

Now all of those hospitals are either rated green (excellent) or yellow (acceptable).

In total, 307 hospitals were given a green rating, and 380 a yellow rating.

Mr Milburn also announced two new measures to drive up hygiene standards still further.

Matron power

From up and down the country patients have been writing to us to complain about filthy wards and public areas

Dr Liam Fox

Matrons will be made mandatory members of hospital cleanliness inspection teams, reporting regularly to trust boards on cleanliness standards.

And the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) will also be invited to join the inspection teams.

Mr Milburn said: "The cleaning campaign in England's hospitals is working.

"Hospitals are delivering tangible improvements that benefit patients, visitors and staff.

"The fundamentals of care are too important to be left to chance.

"Right across the NHS, our task is to ensure patients see the difference - cleaner wards, decent food, better care - and to involve patients in bringing about those improvements."

Nurse response

The Royal College of Nursing's general secretary Dr Beverly Malone said it was "common sense" to put matrons on the inspection teams.

Dirty wards are one of the things that upset patients and nurses alike

Dr Beverly Malone

She said: "They have overall responsibility for the environment that patients are nursed in - dirty wards are one of the things that upset patients and nurses alike."

She added that the WRVS was well-respected for its hospital work and said its members would make a "valuable and practical contribution" to the inspection teams.

A spokesman for the WRVS said the group was pleased to have been asked to get involved.

He said: "Our members do a lot of work in hospitals and we see what's going on and how they operate, and we are neutral so we could provide an objective view."

Dr Liam Fox, Shadow Health Secretary, said: "Frankly nobody believes the Government's propaganda that wards are getting cleaner.

"From up and down the country patients have been writing to us to complain about filthy wards and public areas."

From 2002 all NHS Trusts will have to comply with new national cleanliness standards.