Follow-up report at Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital shows little improvement since November 2009
THERE HAS been no improvement in hand hygiene at a Limerick maternity hospital since inspectors visited late last year and found significant improvements were required.
Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) carried out a follow-up inspection at the Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital – where 5,500 babies are delivered each year – on May 20th and in a report of their findings published yesterday they say while some progress overall has been made, levels of hygiene at the facility are still just “fair”. They were “poor” when inspected last November.
The latest report says that an infection-control nurse was due to be appointed to the 99-bed hospital as part of its plan to improve hygiene after the previous inspection but this position has still not been filled “and the hospital reported that members of the regional infection-control team had not visited the hospital since . . . November 2009”.
Inspectors noticed all opportunities to practise hand hygiene were not taken by staff.
The hospital was given a D rating (15-40 per cent compliance) for hand hygiene, which is the same as it got last year.
Meanwhile, light to moderate levels of dust were observed on high and low surfaces, shower plugs were noted to be unclean, “and inappropriate items such as jugs of urine and cleaning products were observed in bathrooms/ washrooms in two of the areas visited”.
A number of cot mattresses were torn and while equipment was reported to be cleaned after each patient’s use and on a regular basis as per a cleaning schedule, “records did not always confirm adherence to this process”.
In addition, two of three kitchens visited were generally unclean. Kitchen cleaning equipment was observed to be stored with ward cleaning equipment in the three areas visited.
“The need to clearly define the segregation of catering and cleaning duties had been identified in the hospital’s quality improvement plan submitted to the authority [Hiqa] in December 2009.
“However, little progress has been made since the last monitoring assessment in November 2009.”
The Health Service Executive, which runs the hospital, said its ratings on six out of seven standards measured had improved since last year but it acknowledged more needs to be done “and work is under way to bring this about”.
It said hand hygiene was “obviously an area which we now need to concentrate on”.
Staff training is being intensified and an infection-control nurse will be visiting the maternity hospital on a regular basis.
It also said that old sinks were being replaced.