A world-leading infection control expert has demanded tough sanctions for dirty hospitals following the latest damning report into Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington insisted health secretary Nicola Sturgeon must set up “hit teams” to ensure critical inspections are followed up.
His comments came after Tayside health bosses were told to clean up their act after two “very concerning” reports in six months criticised areas of hygiene at the hospital.
“Whilst I welcome the fact that we now finally have a mandatory independent inspection regime in place, this report raises the question about the utility of a system that inspects but has no sanctions available to the regulator to ensure the rectification of problems,” said Professor Pennington.
NHS Tayside has said it will roll out unannounced visits to cover all wards and departments at Ninewells and will publish those details on its website.
Ms Sturgeon said she was “disappointed” at the follow-up report and has sought assurances from the board that it will ensure improvements as a matter of the “highest priority.” But Professor Pennington said this was not enough.
“I think we need more than just expressions of regret from the minister,” he said. “There is now a strong case for some kind of ‘hit team’ to ensure that inspections are properly followed up and standards are complied with rather than leaving health boards to their own devices.
“This latest report has demonstrated that the system hasn’t worked nearly as well as it should have in Ninewells’ case at least.”
He said expensive inspections are only worthwhile if they improve standards.’Playing catch-up'”They can be very expensive but if the system is not in place to ensure recommendations are fully acted upon it’s not just money which will be wasted but possibly even lives,” he said. “We need to get back to the situation where Scotland is again a world leader in infection prevention and control, not playing catch-up.”
Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie urged Ms Sturgeon to follow Professor Pennington’s advice.
“Both these reports came after a number of patients died at Ninewells after contracting clostridium difficile yet there are still clearly major failings at the hospital,” she said. “The Scottish Government needs to seriously consider the idea of following up inspections with support to ensure recommendations are properly enforced rather than simply waiting for the next inspectors’ visit.
“If a firm is failing, administrators are appointed to work with management to sort things out, so why can’t we appoint experts to make sure our hospitals are clean and safe?”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government insisted the “immediate priority” was for NHS Tayside to implement its improvement plan in response to the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate’s report.
“The HEI will undertake further unannounced inspections, similar to the recent follow-up visit, to ensure that any identified improvements are followed through,” he said.
“The health secretary met the board chairman last week and sought assurances that the highest priority will be given to ensuring the required improvements are put in place as a matter of urgency,” he added.