Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust has been issued with an improvement notice by the Healthcare Commission. The Tust runs three hospitals in south London, the Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington Hospital and Beckenham Hospital. Following unannounced visits to Princess Royal University Hospital, the Commission found breaches of duty relating to cleanliness and the decontamination of equipment.
In three wards, thick layers of dust were observed on the curtain rails around patients' beds and on ventilation plates, which showed that thorough routine cleaning was not taking place. A supporting column outside two side rooms of an isolation ward was not maintained, with exposed metal protruding through the plaster. Similar problems were noted in other areas of the same ward.
Bench top sterilisers were observed to be in use in theatres and the day surgery unit with insufficient evidence of a process to trace the origin, history and use of instruments decontaminated in the machines. Evidence of poor decontamination procedures of patient equipment was also found.
Particularly worrying is the fact that soiled commodes, marked clean and ready for use, were found on one ward. Several bed frames and wall mounted suction bottles were very dusty in three wards. A thick layer of dust was observed on the blood culture bottle trolley outside an isolation ward. Patients on two wards expressed concerns to Healthcare Commission staff about the hospital's cleanliness, directing them to examples of unclean areas and equipment such as bloodstains on a bed rail and blood splashes on a wall behind another bed.
Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust has been given two requirements:
· The trust must immediately implement a robust tracing system for any instruments decontaminated using bench top sterilisers, with immediate effect.
· The trust must develop a robust action plan to ensure the cleanliness of all patient areas in line with NHS national minimal standards as published in 2004, by Friday 29 February 2008.
The Commission said that it is satisfied that the Trust is now compliant with the first requirement and a further visit will check on the cleanliness of patient areas and other decontamination issues.
