Hospital Hygiene/Infection Control (Hansard, 7 September 2004)

§ Andrew Mackinlay
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what independent inspections are undertaken of hospital hygiene management programmes; and if he will make a statement. [184417]

§ Mr. Hutton
Responsibility for reviewing the performance of national health service trusts rests with the Healthcare Commission. A new inspection process for monitoring against the new healthcare standards will commence from next year.
In addition, infection control protocols will be inspected as part of the clinical negligence scheme for trusts.

§ Andrew Mackinlay
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance has been given since 19 March 1997 to the(a) development and (b) use in hospitals of new (i) paints and (ii) cleaning products able to kill known microbes; and if he will make a statement. [184418]
1078W

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The choice of paints and cleaning products for use in hospitals is decided locally by individual national health service trusts. We have set up a rapid review process to assess products that make claims about their efficacy to prevent or control healthcare associated infections. However, products to destroy these micro-organisms are already available and it is the consistent use of good infection control practice that needs to be improved.

§ Mr. Norman
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital trust(a) Chairmen, (b) Chief Executives and (c) other board members have received training in administering hygiene and infection control regimes. [185335]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
This information is not held centrally.

§ Mr. Norman
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what(a) representations he has received and (b) evidence he has collected regarding the effect of advance publication of hospital cleaning target specifications on the cleanliness of hospitals. [185620]

§ Mr. Hutton
Since 2000, the patient environment action team (PEAT) programme and the national standards of cleanliness for the National Health Service have been introduced.
As a result of the PEAT inspections; the introduction of the national standards of cleanliness; the investment of £68 million and the efforts of the NHS, standards have risen from a position where, in autumn 2000, only a little over 20 per cent. of hospitals were assessed as having good standards of cleanliness to one where nearly 80 per cent. were assessed as good and the remainder assessed by PEAT as acceptable. We consider that these changes have been important factors in raising standards across the NHS over the past four years, but recognise further improvements are needed.
No representations have been received specifically on this issue.