This article is from page 9 of the 2006-07-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
THE Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis was this week celebrating a huge turnaround in its hygiene standards, following the publication of the second National Hygiene Audit.
The hospital, which last year was rated as poor when it came to hygiene and cleanliness, was this year marked as good.
The report, published by the National Hospitals Office, recorded an increase of 21 per cent from 68 per cent to 89 per cent.
There was however one black spot on the county hospital’s impressive report.
The out-patients “ward/departmental kitchens” area received a poor reading at just 50 per cent of the set hygiene standard.
The required standard, as set out by the audit, asks that the kitchens be maintained to “reduce the risk of cross infection in accordance with legislation”.
Hand hygiene in the medical ward was also deemed poor by the report. While hand hygiene in the accident and emergency department was described as fair it was much improved from last year.
In 2005, the department had one of the poorest hygiene reports in the country and the worst in the Mid West Region at 32 per cent. It has jumped to 77 per cent in the last 12 months. Hand hygiene across the majority of departments was described as fair, with ICU getting a good review.
The handling and disposal of linen and the safe handling and disposal of sharp instruments was described as good in the in-depth report, receiving a 100 per cent rating in the majority of departments.
The hospital’s environment received an overall good rating with the medical and surgical wards receiving a fair rating.
The management of the patient’s equipment in these two wards was also described as fair, with a good rating overall for the hospital, in this category.
The report used the same methodology as used in the first audit. The team that carried out the second audit comprised of trained and experienced auditors who had been involved in the first audit. The Irish Nurses Organisation welcomed the report describing it as a “step in the right direction”.
The nurses union believes that more investment is needed to combat the prevalence of superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium Difficile.
It pointed to problems with overcrowding and a lack of isolation units and called for more capacity to cope with a growing population. It also asked for dedicated infection control staff to be employed.