Mallow hospital ward ‘generally unclean’

A ward in Mallow General Hospital in Co Cork was dirty throughout when health service inspectors saw it last April.

Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) found St Mary’s ward, a 23-beds medical unit, was “generally unclean”.

However, with a few exceptions, the hospital’s medical assessment unit, which Health Minister James Reilly officially opened last month, was found to be clean.

However, the inspectors found that the eight-bed unit was dusty and there was considerable rust-coloured staining on the oxygen tanks that prevented effective cleaning.

Stains were found on a dressing trolley stored in the utility room that was otherwise clean, and the outlet of a hand hygiene sink was unclean

A linen bag was found to be more than two thirds full, which was not in line with best practice.

However, St Mary’s ward received most criticism from the inspectors, with dust seen in all areas inspected.

There was a sticky residue on the tea trolley and one of two mattresses was found to be stained. A commode was visibly dirty around the seat area, while the vinyl on two commodes was not intact, hindering effective cleaning. Rust-coloured staining could be seen on the handle of one commode.

The inspectors pointed out that many of the environmental hygiene issues had nothing to do with the age of the ward or design. A statement from the HSE said the hospital accepted Hiqa’s report and a quality improvement plan focusing on the areas identified for improvement was being implemented.

A separate Hiqa report on St James’s Hospital in Dublin that concentrated on two wards and a general intensive care unit found that equipment used to measure blood gas was not cleaned after each use.

There was also concern that patients could contact a serious fungal infection from construction work at the site of the planned new national children’s hospital.

A spokesperson for the hospital said it was acknowledged that some areas needed to be improved and, “where feasible”, processes had been put in place to make them.