Dirty NHS

I have blogged previously about how dirty NHS hospitals are and how Gordon Brown's "deep clean" initiative is little more than a piece of froth and spin.

Now I read in The Telegraph that:

"More than a quarter of health trusts in England are failing to meet basic hygiene standards, official figures show today.

The Healthcare Commission reports that no improvement has been made on a year ago.

In total, 103 out of 391 trusts admitted they did not achieve the minimum requirements, brought in by the Government to help combat the hospital superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

Patients groups and politicians said that it was "shocking" that one in four still did not meet the standards, despite ministers' pledges to tackle cleanliness.

More than 8,000 deaths were related to MRSA and C. diff. The report shows that
26 per cent of trusts failed to keep facilities clean, did not have adequate infection control or follow guidelines
on decontaminating reusable equipment.

Only 40 per cent of trusts claim to have met all the Governments standards, which include patient care and confidentiality as well as hygiene, a slight fall on last year.

The commission warns that even fewer trusts may be deemed to have met all the criteria by the time it finishes spot checks this year.

The failings come despite a £50 million "deep clean" of every hospital in England, designed to curb superbugs. "

The telegraph article does include an "excuse" and an "explanation" from Ben Bradshaw but I am tired of Ministers like him who are just a walking excuse for the mismanagement of the country and so if you want to read his pearls of "wisdom" you'll have to read them in The Telegraph as they wont get house room here.