Trusts failing on hygiene

Three health trusts in the West Midlands and Staffordshire were today named as among the worst in the country for hygiene.

Wolverhampton, Dudley and South Staffordshire Primary Care Trusts are among 57 PCTs, 41 acute hospital trusts, one ambulance trust and four mental health trusts said to be failing to meet standards.

The hygiene code is aimed at tackling hospital infections like MRSA and C.Diff and covers basic issues such as decontaminating surgical equipment, cleaning wards and providing information to patients.

A total of 103 NHS trusts out of 391 in England – approximately one in four – are unable to meet one or more aspects, according to the Healthcare Commission watchdog.

Commission chiefs today issued a public warning over the failures, saying trusts have 10 months to improve before a new regulator comes into force.

The new Care Quality Commission will require trusts to show they are compliant with regulations on hygiene. Those that fall short are likely to face having conditions put on their registration.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: "Our main message is not that we expect NHS trusts to be closed, but that there's 10 months for these trusts to work very hard at bedding these hygiene code duties into place as they take on that extra legal bite of being registration requirements."

Ms Walker said the Commission had tightened up regulations around decontaminating surgical equipment, which could explain some of the non-compliance.

Simon Evans, head of performance improvement at Wolverhampton PCT, said the trust had "self-declared" areas it needed to improve as part of a 49-point standards check.

"There are improvements that can be made," he said.