Deep cleaning the NHS

Do you remember reading that "NHS hospitals are to be ordered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to conduct a "deep clean" to tackle the spread of infections such as "superbug" MRSA. He wants the cleaning to be pre-emptive rather than a reaction to outbreaks." There was plenty of criticism at the time of the pointlessness of the exercise at MRSA is carried by humans - staff, patients and visitors - rather than the building.

However, having been into three London NHS hospitals over the past few years they could definitely do with a good clean; Mrs NotaSheep walked into a visitors toilet at St Mary's Paddington and found a swarm of flies, I witnessed a nurse changing a drip and wiping the spilt blood off the back of her hand onto her apron before moving straight onto the next patient, The dirt in one of the corridors at Hammersmith Hospital was not pleasant, I could go on and on.

So six weeks later has the "deep cleaning" started? Maybe it hasn't started but there must be a serious plan in place. It appears not.

David Cameron in his speech today replying to the Queens speech spilt the beans:
"Let me take just one example: the Prime Minister’s pledge to “deep clean” our hospitals. Here is the headline from one newspaper—it is just what he wanted:

“I’ll wipe the wards clean—PM’s amazing pledge on MRSA”.

When we look at it more closely, it certainly is amazing. The Prime Minister said that “deep cleaning” would happen in “every hospital”, but listen to what the Department of Health said:

“There are no plans to centrally monitor the deep cleaning of hospitals. Arrangements for the programme are entirely a matter for local determination”.

[Interruption.] Wait. The Department of Health went on:

“Undertaking deep-clean is just one of a number of approaches trusts may take in tackling healthcare infections.”

It gets worse. The Prime Minister said that deep cleaning would happen “over the next year”, but the Department of Health said that

“no specific date has been set for either the commencement or completion of the deep-clean programme.”

The Prime Minister said deep cleaning would be repeated “every 18 months”, but the Department of Health said:

“The success of the first programme of deep cleaning will be fully evaluated before a decision is made about whether to repeat.”

Then it said:

“There are also no plans to assess the effectiveness of deep-cleaning.”

Therefore, all the things that the Prime Minister told us—that it would happen in every hospital, start immediately and be repeated every 18 months—turned out not to be true.

What a complete shambles. People are worried about going to hospital and catching a disease that might kill them, and all they get from the Government are short-term tricks. I will tell you, Mr Speaker, what needs a deep clean: the culture of spin, deceit and half-truth that we get from the Government."


That's Gordon Brown's Government for you...

Do you think the BBC covered that part of David Cameron's speech? What do you think... Of course not, the only reference to health in the BBC's coverage of the debate is this "Other bills announced include a Health and Social Care Bill which introduces a single regulator for the health and adult care services who will also have the power to fine hospitals for failing to meet hygiene standards." BBC up to the usual standards of impartiality there.

UPDATE:
My humble apologies, there is a reference on the page describing David Cameron's speech it is "He also criticised the government's plans to "deep clean" hospital wards as a "complete shambles"", that covers it, no? No it doesn't. BBC bias "present and correct"...