More hospitals fail hygiene tests

[Posted: Mon 14/12/2009 by Joanne McCarthy www.irishhealth.com]

Roscommon County Hospital and St Luke’s General Hospital, Kilkenny have been told their hygiene standards need to be improved.

Hygiene reports of the two hospitals were published by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The reports are the result of unannounced inspections which examine the hygiene services of the hospitals. In particular, the inspections examine seven core criteria that must be complied with to meet the requirements for the provision of safe, efficient and effective hygiene services.

St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny achieved a ‘C’ rating, or a grade of between 41 and 65%, for ensuring the physical environment of the hospital and its facilities are clean. 

The standard of hygiene was described as ‘fair’ in the majority of areas visited, while four areas visited were observed to have high and low level dust, chipped paint, clutter and sticky tape residue on surfaces.

An external storage room in the emergency department was not visibly clean and the cleaning and emergency department staff interviewed on the day were not clear who was responsible for cleaning the room. Bathrooms/washrooms and toilets were generally clean, but in four of the six areas visited, checklists were not completed in full, the report observed.

Four other areas achieved ‘B’ ratings, or grades between 66 and 85%, while two areas achieved ‘A’ ratings.

The report concluded that St Luke’s has not maintained its level of performance in relation to the delivery of hygiene services compared to 2008. The monitoring assessment found that the hospital did not meet all the requirements. It expects all hospitals to achieve levels of compliance of over 85% with all of the standards.

St Luke’s Hospital General Kilkenny must improve its performance in order to provide safe, efficient and effective hygiene services, the report said.

Meanwhile, Roscommon County Hospital achieved ‘B’ ratings in six of the seven criteria, and an ‘A’ rating in one of them.

Its report concluded that it has made progress in its delivery of hygiene services when compared to 2008. However, the assessment found that it did not meet all the requirements and that it must continue to improve its performance.

A previous report on Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital gave it a poor hygiene rating. For more, see here.