In November 2009 and January 2010 I wrote about the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate Report that criticised the standards of cleaning at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. A follow up inspection was carried out on the 17th of February 2010 and a report of their findings has been published today (the 29th March 2010). The follow up inspection looked at Wards 12, 14, 31,32,45, Ear Nose and Throat and the High Dependency Unit.
What is new? The report says that the senior charge nurse on each ward are responsible for their own wards environment and they can ensure that it is cleaned to an acceptable standard. The report does say that the senior charge nurse should be given the power to report faults with the building directly to estates. Mattresses also need to be checked for cleanliness. On the down side, almost all waste is going into clinical waste bins (which is admittedly better than clinical waste going into normal bins) but it would be better if non-hazardous waste went into regular dustbins and clinical waste went into clinical bins/sharp bins as appropriate.
Overall, things seem to be getting better, but as always, if you are in the hospital and you don’t like what you see, complain.
If you are more impressed with the images than the text “
