New hospital hygiene drive

MRSA has made many patients wary of hospitals

Every health worker will be urged to take more responsibility for hygiene in plans to improve cleanliness and reduce infection rates in Welsh hospitals.

Hospitals in England have already unveiled steps to improve standards and cut infections like MRSA.

Welsh assembly members will be told later of a similar strategy for Wales.

But Wales is unlikely to adopt plans by UK health minister John Reid to make every English hospital trust publish and display infection rates.

The Welsh Assembly Government said Wales had one of the most robust systems of disease surveillance in the UK.

A spokesman said : "The Welsh Assembly Government takes healthcare-associated infections very seriously.

We firmly believe that effective hand-washing is still the simplest and quickest way of preventing the spread of infection in hospitals Dr Richard Lewis, BMA

"Steps have already been taken in Wales for the management and control of these infections. "

The Wales Committee for the Control of Communicable Disease (CCCD) has identified healthcare-associated infections as a priority area.

It has since been recommended that all hospital staff should be made aware of the impact of infection, and of infection control practices.

A training programme for specialist and non-specialist healthcare workers will also be devised.

A draft document, Healthcare Associated Infections in Wales - A Strategy for Hospitals, has been sent to all hospitals as part of a consultation exercise.

"The Welsh strategy proposes to re-adjust infection control structures and management to reflect our belief that effective control can only be achieved if all healthcare workers play their part," the assembly spokesman said.

"We already have infection control doctors and teams in each trust, but what we are also seeking to do is to extend accountabilities to the clinical teams and directorates themselves right across the trusts. "

The British Medical Association in Wales has given a cautious welcome to the strategy.

Dr Richard Lewis, the association's Welsh secretary, said: "Hospital-acquired infection is a major issue for the NHS and it is good to hear that the Welsh Assembly Government is taking some sensible steps to tackle this very serious problem.

"However we firmly believe that effective hand-washing is still the simplest and quickest way of preventing the spread of infection in hospitals.

"You cannot under-estimate the importance of a clean environment. Good systems for monitoring cleanliness are essential.

"All staff should be practising the basics of care we learned more than a hundred years ago.

"Gimmicks are fine if they work but what we should focus on is getting back to basics."