Hiqa inspections identify hygiene issues in two hospitals

Staff in some parts of Cork University Hospital had to increase their level of hand hygiene following a health watchdog inspection, which also raised concerns over hygiene levels in sections of University Hospital Limerick.

Parts of both hospitals were the subject of separate, unannounced checks by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in November and again in January.

At University Hospital Limerick, a number of “immediate high-risk findings were identified on Ward 1D” in the November inspection, while “another immediate high risk was identified on Ward 4A during the January re-inspection”, although this was immediately addressed.