Hospital hygiene is not a question of resources, insists Harney

RESOURCES have nothing to do with hospital hygiene, according to Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney.

Speaking in Tralee yesterday she said hospitals were much cleaner and even 'spotless' when there was a lot less money in the country.

Ms Harney, who officially opened a new medical centre, in Ardfert, Co Kerry, was asked about the situation in Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, which was recently found to be one of the dirtiest in the country in a national audit of hygiene in acute hospitals.