Superbug trust makes substantial improvements

23 Jan 2009

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, previously at the centre of a superbug scandal, has made “substantial improvements” according to the Healthcare Commission.

The health watchdog said that more work was needed but commended staff for the improvements made.

Ninety people died in two outbreaks of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) in 2006 and 2007.

A Healthcare Commission report in 2007 found dirty wards and low staffing levels, as well as evidence that patients were left to lie on their own excrement.

The Commission said the trust has made “huge strides” in infection control and reported its lowest rate of C. diff if three years between January and March 2008.

Inspectors still found breaches of the hygiene code when they performed a spot check in March, including problems with the decontamination of equipment in the endoscopy unit.

When inspectors visited again a month later, they found that this problem had been resolved.

The Healthcare Commission said that despite the improvements, there was still progress to be made, including on how the trust learns from complaints and the recruitment of more nurses.

Guy Forster, a lawyer at Patientlawyers.com, said: “We welcome the focus that has been directed towards tacking hospital-acquired infection at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

“However, there is no room for complacency and it is clear that more could be done to prevent infection. Recent reports indicate that, in the NHS as a whole, there has been a decrease in infection but there needs to be a sustained effort to ensure that infection rates continue to decline.”

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