East of England Ambulance Service, which covers Hertfordshire, launches cleanliness review (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

East of England Ambulance Service, which covers Hertfordshire, launches cleanliness review

3:25pm Saturday 3rd October 2009 in

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AN urgent review of cleanliness in Hertfordshire's Ambulances has been launched.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust's cleaning programme has been called into question following a critical report by the Care Quality Commission.

During an unannounced inspection, the commission visited seven of the service's 100 ambulance stations, examined vehicles and spoke with staff and managers.

A subsequent report from the commission said the ambulance service had “breached the regulation to protect patients, workers and other from the risks of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection”.

Dr Scott Turner, one of the service’s joint medical directors, said: “We are taking this inspection report extremely seriously. The safety of both our patients and staff is an absolute priority to us and we are putting a number of measures in place to ensure that our ambulances meet the highest standards of cleanliness.”

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAS) covers 7,500 miles across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

In particular, the inspection, carried out in August, found “poor levels of cleanliness” in 22 out of 23 vehicles, staff were “unsure” of basic cleaning and hygiene methods, such as washing uniforms, and there was no evidence staff were supervised during infection control practices.

As a result, a warning was issued and a number of improvement targets must be met.

These will include ensuring staff receive better information, training and supervision on how to prevent and control infections; hand washing facilities are checked and improved where necessary; and a network of infection prevention and control champions is created to make sure cleanliness is given constant high priority.

Dr Turner said: “We were especially disappointed with the report because we have done so much across the Service to ensure that our vehicles are deep cleansed every quarter – and kept clean. In some stations we have introduced a “stockers and washers” system where vehicles are cleaned by specialist teams and we have regularly communicated policies around hand washing and other infection control advice.

“However, it is clear that we have not done enough. We must do more and we have developed a comprehensive action plan which is now being implemented.

“EEAS is committed to providing the highest standards of patient care and will work with the Care Quality Commission to ensure that all necessary requirements are met.”