Plan for clean hospital 'tsars'

Hospital staff are urged to wash hands between seeing each patient

Plans to appoint "tsars" to take charge of keeping Welsh hospitals clean and to tackle bugs like MRSA have been approved by ministers in the assembly.

Hospitals will be legally required to appoint a staff member to oversee cleanliness and infection control.

However, the British Medical Association Wales has called the proposal a "cosmetic measure".

Chairman Dr Tony Calland said hospitals should clean more regularly and ensure staff washed their hands frequently.

The proposal was first put forward by Swansea East AM Val Lloyd, and received cross-party support.

Welsh Health Minister Brian Gibbons has given the measure his support which was endorsed during an assembly debate on Wednesday afternoon.

He said those appointed would be the "advocate and champion" on a hospital trust's board of the public's concerns about infection control, as well as reporting to community health councils.

"There is a structure for accountability there for infection control at the moment but what we're trying to do is to have an additional appointment that will bring the public concerns more visibly and accountably to the trust boards."

This 'tsar' isn't going to have any magic cleaning fluid at his fingertips which he can apply Dr Tony Calland, BMA Wales

Ms Lloyd claims the measure will see Wales "lead the way" in fighting hospital bugs such as MRSA.

She said: "Whilst Wales already has lower infection rates than England there is always room to improve.

"I am confident that my legislation will strengthen already tough policy on infection control.

"I hope it will inspire confidence amongst the public through the appointment of a public representative with responsibility for engaging with patients and staff."

Currently in the NHS in England, directors of infection prevention and control head up infection control teams charged with improving cleanliness.

Hand washing plays a crucial role in the fight against infection

If legislation was passed, a non-executive hospital director would be required by law to undertake responsibility for monitoring and enforcing infection control on wards.

But BMA Wales has expressed scepticism over the value of such appointments.

Chairman Dr Tony Calland told BBC Wales' news website such a role should be "an irrelevance" if proper procedures were followed.

He said: "It should be the responsibility of individual hospital trusts to ensure that it does not infect the vulnerable patients who come into the hospitals.

"If the systems that should be in place are working, this should be an irrelevance.

"It's actually a completely cosmetic measure, pretending to solve a problem when there shouldn't be a problem.

"This 'tsar' isn't going to have any magic cleaning fluid at his fingertips which he can apply."

'Hands-on job'

He said NHS trusts had not paid enough attention to keeping hospitals clean.

"They need to clean more regularly and make sure that medical, nursing and other staff, which includes consultants, actually wash their hands between seeing patients.

"It seems that has fallen by the wayside to a degree."

John O'Sullivan, of Whitchurch, Cardiff, who contracted MRSA in 1998 and is now a campaigner for better hospital hygiene, gave the proposals a cautious welcome.

He said: "It's a step in the right direction providing it's a hands-on job and not just an office job, where they look at the information given to the them by people working at the grassroots level."