More than 300 mattresses at a Black Country hospital had to be replaced following a damning hygiene inspection, it has emerged.

Matrons checked mattresses in each ward at Dudley’s Russells Hall Hospital after inspectors from NHS regulator the Care Quality Commission found four that were soiled and stained during a spot check.

Inspectors also found bloodstains, dirty floors and unclean equipment.

They returned at the beginning of November, two months after their first visit, and were told a mattress audit had been carried out a few weeks earlier.

Hospital bosses replaced 288 out of the 506 mattresses checked, and also and 17 of the 83 trolley mattresses.

A report by the CQC said all four wards checked by inspectors on the follow-up visit were found to be clean and well-maintained.

Inspectors were told mattresses were checked by matrons each month and an audit is carried out every six months.

The report stated: “We found no evidence that the trust has breached the regulation to protect patients, workers and others from the risks of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection.”

Paula Clark, chief executive of Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said she was pleased with the findings of the report and added that the trust would work hard to maintain the good standards.