The CSSA has rejected the Royal College of Nursing’s call to bring cleaning back in house as ‘playing to the gallery’. Speaking following the announcement of the RCN’s conference vote, CSSA director general Andrew Large said: "Today’s vote by the Royal College of Nursing to campaign for an end to contracted out cleaning flies in the face of the reality of hospital cleaning today. Without contract cleaning, UK hospitals would be in a lot worse state than they currently are."
Some 60 to 65% of UK hospitals are in-house cleaned. Despite this the UK has one of the worst healthcare associated infection rates in Europe. In the recent ‘deep clean’ programme, contract cleaners were brought in to support in house teams that could not cope with the work. Most importantly, without fundamental improvements in hand hygiene, bed management and antibiotic prescribing practice no amount of cleaning, whoever does it, is going to make a difference to infection rates.
The real issues are common to all NHS cleaning operations, be they outsourced or in-house. They are the under-resourcing of cleaning, low prioritisation of cleaning by NHS Trusts and a lack of screening and segregation of patients with infections. Unless these issues and the others mentioned above are resolved then the situation will not improve.
Andrew Large concluded: "In February, an NHS Cleaning Summit brought together all of the key players in hospital cleaning to look for shared solutions to the current issues. This is a collaborative exercise that recognises that it is better to work together for the good of patients rather than engage in futile arguments about state ownership. It would be much more constructive if the RCN were to put its weight behind these efforts rather than playing to the gallery."
How safe is your hospital?
The BBC1 Panorama Programme ‘How safe is your hospital?’, broadcast at the end of last month, examined the prevalence of clostridium difficile in the NHS and asked if the current measures in place are sufficient to arrest the increase in infections and deaths caused by c. diff.
Speaking following the programme, the CSSA director general Andrew Large said: "C. diff infections have already been responsible for too many tragedies. The BBC’s research shows that extra investment in day to day cleaning and hygiene resources is required if hospital staff are to manage infected patients in a clean and dignified manner and prevent the further spread of disease."
The BBC’s research showed that many hospitals in the UK are battling c. difficile and that while some are doing well in areas such as hand hygiene, patient isolation and bed occupancy, others are struggling.
Andrew Large concluded: "Clostridium difficile has for too long been ignored, despite the fact that it infects and kills many more patients than MRSA. I call on the Government to increase its investment in research into c. difficile so that it can be combated more effectively. Recent events have also shown that front line staffing must be sufficient to provide for a sanitised and dignified patient environment. The Government must provide the resources necessary for each NHS Trust to recruit more cleaning and nursing staff so that these conditions can be maintained throughout the Health Service."