Trolley beds in a hospital accident and emergency department were contaminated with blood and body fluids, despite inspectors being told they had been cleaned and inspected, a report has revealed.
A team from the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) examined five trolley beds on the second day of their visit to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.
A cleaning schedule showed they had been cleaned and inspected after concerns about the level of cleanliness in the A&E department had been raised by the HEI the previous day.
But when the inspectors examined them they discovered they were all "contaminated with blood or body fluids", and on one of them, "we found the same blood contamination that we had found the previous day".
On the first day of the inspectors' unannounced visit in October last year, they found the "cleanliness of patient equipment was poor" in A&E.
Ten of the 11 patient trolley beds checked that day were contaminated with blood or body fluids, while four mattress covers were "heavily contaminated or damaged".
In the "stitch room", where patients with wounds that need stitching are treated, there was "significant blood contamination" on the examination table, while other items, including tourniquets and the protective eye goggles worn by staff, were also found to be contaminated with blood.
The inspectors raised the issues with staff, with the report stating: "We were not assured that there was an effective system for cleaning reusable patient equipment and patient trolley beds. Due to our concerns, we escalated this to senior management on the first day of the inspection.
"As a result of our concerns, we were told additional overnight staff would clean all patient trolley beds in the accident and emergency department and deep clean the stitch room."
The HEI report said: "We returned to the accident and emergency department on the second day of our inspection to make sure that identified cleanliness issues had been dealt with. We were given cleaning schedules that showed all the patient trolley beds had been cleaned by domestic and nursing staff overnight and re-inspected by senior management that morning.
"We inspected five patient trolley beds and found all five were contaminated with blood or body fluids. On one trolley bed, we found the same blood contamination that we had found the previous day."
When the inspectors returned a week later, they found "the standard of cleaning of both the environment and patient equipment had significantly improved" in A&E, with the majority of patient equipment that was inspected described as "clean and ready for use".
The HEI has now told NHS Ayrshire and Arran it must "ensure that all patient equipment at University Hospital Crosshouse is clean and ready for use".
Susan Brimelow, HEI chief inspector, said: "During our initial unannounced inspection we expressed concern to senior management regarding the standard of cleanliness of patient equipment in the accident and emergency department. As a result of our follow-up inspection, we saw a significant improvement, but will follow up on progress at future inspections."
NHS Ayrshire and Arran chief executive John Burns said the health board "welcomes the scrutiny" the inspections provide as these "help to ensure we are achieving the highest standards for our patients".
He said: "Following an HEI inspection to University Hospital Crosshouse on October 28 and 29 and November 6, the inspection team found that NHS Ayrshire & Arran was complying with the majority of standards to protect patients, staff and visitors from the risk of acquiring an infection.
"In response to the inspection we took immediate steps to address the areas which were identified as requiring improvement. We take prevention and control of infection extremely seriously and we have increased our focus on our own programme of unannounced inspections and audits to reinforce those provided by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate."
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