12 June 2008
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has been found to be fully compliant with the Healthcare Commission's 'Hygiene Code' following an unannounced inspection.
In February 2008, a team of expert inspectors from the Healthcare Commission made an unannounced visit to St Helier Hospital to check that the Trust was compliant with their 'Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections', also known as the 'Hygiene Code'.
The Healthcare Commission's inspectors spent a day in the hospital looking at the Trust's standards of infection prevention and control, and how we keep our hospitals clean. They also assessed what we do to isolate patients who have infections. As part of the inspection, the team interviewed a range of staff from across the hospital, as well as thoroughly inspecting three busy wards and other areas.
Samantha Jones, Chief Executive, said: "I am extremely pleased to report that the Trust was found to be compliant with the Healthcare Commission's 'Hygiene Code'. This is excellent news for St Helier, Sutton and Epsom hospitals and will reemphasise to our patients and local people the importance we place as a Trust on keeping their hospitals clean and safe. The Healthcare Commission's expert inspectors were very thorough and spent many hours inspecting wards and other areas.
"Our team of dedicated staff and volunteers work very hard to keep all three hospitals clean and safe. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and for making sure that we met the high standards the Healthcare Commission's inspectors expected of us."
