The 'Hygiene Code' forms part of the Health Act 2006. It lays down the rules NHS trusts must follow to ensure patients are cared for in a clean environment, where the risks of healthcare acquired infections like MRSA and C. difficile are kept as low as possible.
The rules cover all aspects of infection control, not only cleanliness. Examples of measures in the code are:
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having staff members who are dedicated to overseeing infection control;
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providing the right kind of hand-washing facilities in the right places;
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staff understanding and implementing best practice in infection control;
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having enough isolation facilities to minimise the risk of infections spreading.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission arrive unannounced and visit randomly selected wards and departments. They also interview a range of staff.
We were last inspected in September 2009. The insection report can be downloaded below. The inspection found that of the 16 measures inspected, there were no concerns about 14. However for two measures, recommendations were made to ensure we compiled with regulations to protect patients, workers and others from the risk of acquiring health-associated infection.
We took immediate action and in November 2009 we received a follow-up inspection. The subsequent report by the Care Quality Inspection 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.
This report can also be downloaded below.
