• Car parking and onsite facilities
• Choose and book
• Conditions and treatments
• Disability and carer info
• Health records
• Organ and tissue donation
• Outpatients
• Overseas patients
• Patient care
  • Chaplaincy
  • Call 4 Concern
  • Discharge
  • Infection control
    • Washing Hands
    • Information for patients and visitors
    • Annual reports
    • Hygiene code inspection report
    • Video
  • Surviving Sepsis
  • Green medicines bag
• Patient relations
• Safeguarding adults
• Tell us your views
• Ward and department information
• Your stay in hospital
• Your personal information
• Medical exemption prescription charges
• RBH Handbook

• Home | Patients & visitors | Patient care | Infection control |
  • Hygiene code inspection report

Inspection gives Trust a clean bill of health

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust has been given a clean bill of health following an unannounced inspection by the Healthcare Commission to check on cleanliness and infection control procedures.

During the visit which lasted two days, the inspectors examined the Trust's work in ensuring compliance with four important duties stipulated in the Department of Health's Hygiene Code.

These are:

• The Trust must have appropriate management systems for infection prevention and control
• The Trust must provide and maintain a clean and appropriate environment for healthcare
• The Trust must provide adequate isolation facilities
• The Trust must have in place an appropriate policy in relation to antimicrobial prescribing.

In their report the inspectors have given their stamp of approval to the Trust, declaring that it is meeting all of the requirements. In particular the inspectors highlighted the investment made by the Trust to combat infection. In 2007/08, the trust committed to invest £1 million in infection control. This was to enhance and enlarge the infection control team and purchase laboratory equipment and resources for MRSA screening.

Chief Nurse and Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Nigel Davies said: "We have, and will continue to place great emphasis on ensuring that we provide our patients with the highest possible levels of hygiene - so we are very pleased that the inspection team found that our efforts are achieving results. However, it is very much a work in progress - we will continue to do all in our power to ensure a clean environment for our patients and work towards totally eliminating hospital-acquired infections."

The hygiene code lists the actions that NHS trusts in England must take to ensure a clean environment for the care of patients, in which the risk of infection is kept as low as possible.

Statistics

The number of hospital acquired cases of C difficile has halved to 73 in 2008/09, compared to 144 in 2007/8.

The Trust has achieved a 74% reduction in MRSA Bacteraemia compared to the 2003/4 national baseline. The national target was to maintain and improve upon the 50% target.