Crackdown on cleanliness and infections

A new hospital regulator with powers to impose fines and close down entire wards in hospitals that do not meet hygiene requirements will be introduced and hospitals across England will undergo an aggressive programme of intensive deep cleaning...

HCAI-an epic battle

Over the past two decades, healthcare associated infection (HCAI) has emerged as a significant threat to patient safety. The financial and personal costs of HCAI in terms of the economic consequences to the National Health Service...

Healthcare associated infection: what else can the NHS do?

In May 2006, five months before the introduction of the government’s hygiene code, the Commission undertook a voluntary survey of acute NHS trusts to bring together information on how trusts were dealing with prevention and control of infection...

Healthcare Commission issues first ever improvement notice over infection control

The Healthcare Commission has issued Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust with an improvement notice, ordering immediate changes to its infection control practices...

How clean is your house?

Hospital hygiene is in the news yet again. Health secretary Alan Johnson’s announcement in September shows how seriously the government is taking it: deep-cleaning, new control and reporting mechanisms and even a new regulator. It is an all-pervasive challenge, and one that needs a back-to-basics solution...

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...

MRSA bloodstream infections down but c difficile figures up

In January 2007, the agency started publishing quarterly surveillance figures on healthcare associated infection to help hospitals improve the responsiveness of their efforts to reduce infections...

New ways of tackling HCAI

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital is an NHS foundation trust serving a local population of around 1 million people, with patients attending from further away for some specialised services...

Significant failings in infection control at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

The Healthcare Commission has issued recommendations for national action and sent a message to all NHS trusts that boards must provide strong leadership in preventing and managing infection. This follows publication of a report detailing significant failings in infection control at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust...

The war on HCAI

Healthcare associated infections have added to the daily challenges that hospital staff face...