Patient safety

How clean is your kitchen?

Almost half of all hospitals kitchens and/or canteens in England could be failing to meet cleanliness and hygiene standards, according to a nationwide survey by the Liberal Democrats. Nearly a fifth of hospitals surveyed kept food at the wrong temperatures or in unsafe conditions, while 11 hospitals had problems with vermin.

Offending hospitals reported problems including cockroaches and mouse droppings in kitchens, medical waste on food handling equipment and poor personal hygiene in staff.

Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary, Norman Lamb MP said:

"These findings paint a shocking picture of hospital food hygiene in this country. It is simply unacceptable that such terrible practices are taking place in an environment where hygiene and safety should be paramount.

"Sick people are already vulnerable to infection. They don't need the added risk of food-borne bacteria spread by lax standards.

"Patients have a right to know how their food is being prepared when they go into hospital. Hygiene standards must be made public via clear and accessible ratings for each institution.

"The worst performers should be named and shamed - while those doing well would stand as an example to drive up standards."

The Liberal Democrats submitted freedom of information requests to a quarter of all English local authorities, asking them for their local authority health inspection reports into the food preparation areas of local hospitals within their authority. The results include both NHS and private hospitals.

Of the 377 hospitals included in the responses:

• 173 hospital environments displayed poor cleanliness / condition of workplace

• 11 hospitals had a vermin / pest problem

• 68 hospitals fell below the legal requirements for food storage / conditions

• 57 hospitals had staff with poor personal hygiene / lack of hand washing

• 18 hospitals had food that was out of date

• 66 hospitals stored food at incorrect temperatures

• 107 hospitals did not have correct food safety documentation

• 25 hospitals had inadequate staff training

The inexorable rise in levels of food poisoning is a stark illustration of what happens when we lose our focus on prevention, yet old fashioned standards of cleanliness associated with the era of matron are difficult to recreate.

"Until every member of staff in a hospital, from top to bottom, has embraced the concepts of good hygiene and hazard control, including food hygiene, and acts upon what they have learnt, our standing in the cleanliness league tables is not going to improve," says Royal Institute of Public Health chairperson, Professor Alan Maryon-Davis. "Managers throughout the NHS should really be pushing this hard, and making sure their staff are trained to the appropriate standard.

According to the RIPH, the only way to tackle the problem is to take a structured approach known as hazard awareness critical control points-assessing each point in the chain where contamination can be introduced and then eliminating it through clear instructions to staff, appropriate equipment and vigilant supervision, to ensure that the rules are being adhered to. This goes much further than just hand washing, although that is a good illustration of a standard which must be enforced.

For details of RIPH qualifications and HACCP training for your staff, contact Nicki Alvey or Tony Varey at the Royal Institute of Public Health on 020 7580 2731.

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