NHS watchdog: 5 out of 51 hospital trusts pass checks

Five out of 51 acute hospital trusts in England have passed a hygiene spot check, according to the Healthcare Commission.

The NHS watchdog additionally found the majority failed to meet standards that have been introduced to combat infections such as Clostridium difficile and MRSA.

According to the study, just over half – 27 out of 51 – failed to keep all areas well-maintained and clean, however the organisation also noted most had improved in leadership and the ensuring of uniforms being fit and clean for purpose.

The Commission chief executive, Anna Walker, said: “Trusts need to ensure that their wards are consistently clean and well maintained, and that they have good decontamination and isolation arrangements.”

She added the organisation wanted hospitals “to ensure they are compliant with the government’s hygiene code all of the time”.

The survey also saw the provision of isolation facilities was not adequate in one in eight trusts.

In other news, the cost to the UK economy of looking after people with multiple sclerosis is 1.4 billion pounds a year, a study by King’s College London has found.

Researchers polled 2,000 MS patients and noted they cost the equivalent of nearly £17,000 a year in care, support and medication.