Hygiene lapses discovered at hospital

An inspection by the CQC at the end of January saw the hospital meet 13 out of 16 measures of a hygiene code, the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said. Swift action had now been taken to remedy the remaining failures.

Summing up conditions at the hospital, the CQC said: "On inspection, we found evidence that the trust has breached the regulation to protect patients, workers and others from the risk of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection."

But the report acknowledged there was no cause for concern over 13 hygiene measures "and found areas of improvement in the remaining three".

Key items in the damning report were:

10 soiled commodes in areas within patients' reach.

Two out of five privacy curtains soiled with blood.

No consistently used mechanism in the trust to identify when patient equipment had been cleaned.

In the acute medical unit, two trolley mattresses were badly soiled. One, made up ready for use in A&E had a "foul odour" and the inner foam was wet. Inspectors also found dirt and debris - including a needle - beneath the mattress on two trolleys and blood stains on the underside of the mattress on two others.

In all three of the clinical areas, there were concerns about the standard of cleaning or maintenance of the environment.

Nurses were said to be unclear about cleaning procedures, including the use of equipment for body fluid spillages.

Following the report, chief executive Gail Wannell apologised to patients, relatives and visitors.

"We had been compliant with the hygiene standards since they were brought in and are very disappointed that on this occasion we have let our patients and ourselves down," she said.

Immediate action had been taken to "step up" the cleaning programme.

"We have learnt from this and can assure our community that the majority of the actions have already been carried out," she said.