The Government’s flagship plan to perform a deep clean of every hospital in England has still not been completed, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has admitted.
The programme, designed to combat bugs like MRSA and Clostridium difficile, was supposed to have been finished by the end of March, but in a statement to MPs Mr Johnson said nine trusts had still not completed the work.
He insisted that the remaining hospitals would be cleaned by the end of May.
“There are valid reasons for trusts to complete after March 31, such as significant refurbishments or reasons relating to patient safety,” he said.
The NHS will “maintain the high standards of cleanliness” that have resulted from the deep clean initiative, Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnson said: “Specialist Healthcare Commission inspections begin this month against the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections so all acute trusts will be inspected every year on their clean environment.”
The NHS trusts yet to complete their cleaning programmes are: Hampshire Partnership Trust, Oxford and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust, St Helens & Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, Homerton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Kingston Hospital NHS Trust, West Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Sheffield Care Trust.
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