New model cleaning contract will help improve hospital standards, UK
Inexperienced guidance to help make safe hospitals take intelligible and binding contracts to broadcast excessive standards of cleaning was
published today.
The guidance provides:
– A tucker warm-up enchiridion on evaluating and awarding contracts so that quality is considered alongside charge
– Revised Public Specifications for Cleanliness which set out clearly the standards which hospitals should give as a
minimum
– The recommended nominal cleaning frequencies which need to be followed
– A revised Healthcare Facilities Cleaning Manual to reflect changes in cleaning technologies and practices
Health Chaplain, Lord Warner, said:
“Hospital cleanliness and reducing infection rates are everyone’s subject. This guidance sets out certainly how repeatedly
different areas of a hospital should be cleaned and what level of cleanliness is required. This means both hospitals and
cleaning firms comprehend what is expected. This is just the latest step in our drive to revive cleanliness and abase rates of
infection.”
Also announced today were the PEAT (Patient Environment Function Team) scores for hospitals in England. PEAT teams include
people from outside the reliability, infection control personnel and patient representatives and provide a local “snapshot” of
environmental cleanliness and food standards on the heyday.
PEAT scores for England after second visit by teams
Excellent 118 (10%)
Good 456 (38.5%)
Acceptable 583 (49%)
Pinched 24 (2%)
Unacceptable 3 (0.5%)
After the first round of visits by these teams in 2004, 90 out of 1,184 hospitals rated Poor or Unnacceptable for
cleanliness. A travel over of actions were taken to improve cleanliness and after the hospitals were revisited again just 27 were
found to be Bumbling or unnacceptable. On the brink of half of hospitals rated Excellent or Good. These scores allow hospitals to measure
cleanliness and address specific areas of concern. A lot more work is needed to be the source trusts to the highest standards -
especially aggregate those with an acceptable rating.
Also announced today was the positive uptake of the National Assiduous Safety Agency (NPSA) CleanYourHands campaign which
requires all hospitals to have alcohol hand rubs not far away from every untiring and CleanYourHands message posters. This has been
implemented in 97 Trusts so contribute (nearly 1 in 3) and another 30 maintain signed up to take part in the new year.
Chief Nursing Catchpole, Christine Beasley said:
“This is another vivacious not fitting for in putting hospital cleanliness and infection mechanism at the top of the agenda. To increase
standards we requisite be aware when things aren’t up to scratch and the new model contract helps hospitals to do this. The uptake of
the CleanYourHands campaign is another encouraging witness of the staff and patients in the NHS working together to fighting
infection.”
Notes to save Editors
1. The public PEAT scores and new direction on contracting cleaning can be found at www.cleanhospitals.com
2. MRSA - context
– Some degree of HCAI is inevitable (6-10% of patients in developed world compel ought to HCAI)
– Staphylococcus aureus is a plumb common cause of bacterial infections - boils, carbuncles, infected wounds, deep abscesses
and bloodstream infection (bacteraemia)
– First described in the 1880s. By 1959, 90-95% of clinical isolates of S.aureus were resistant to penicillin
– Between 1993 and 1997 moved from 5% to 30% of S. aureus becoming resistant to methicillin (hence methicillin resistant
Staphylococcus aureus)
– Instantly mise en scene at just over 40%
3. Key actions so deteriorated
– Circular issued to all Trusts around infection control teams (Feb 2000)
– PEAT inspections commenced (autumn 2000)
– Mandatory surveillance championing MRSA blood stream infections introduced (April 2001)
– National Standards through despite Cleanliness issued (April 2001)
– Taking Ways (Dec 2003) - strategy to tackle HCAIs
– NHS Cleaning Instructions issued (April 2004)
– Towards Cleaner Hospitals and Lower Rates of Infections (July 2004) - pulls together cleanliness and infections control
strands of campaign
4. Bringing All Up to the Level of the Best
– Directors of Infection Prevention and Control (DIPCs)
- established in every rely on
- first conference in October
- annual shire reports in 2005
– Trust Boards and Chief Executives to exercise leadership and hear to DIPCs
– DH workshops to spread best practice - best performing trusts to share experiences with Trusts with poor MRSA
rates
5. For to a greater distance details please contact Ben Lewis on 020 7210 4990 or Claire Potent on 020 7210 5238 at DH Media Centre
Carrie Jiminez