Health inspectors hit out at broken patient equipment at Stobhill Hospital

Cleanliness watchdogs are demanding new patient equipment be provided for Stobhill Hospital after finding ripped chairs, broken bed heads and worn-out drug dispensing trollies.
G.V of Stobhill Hospital sign
Photo by Emma Mitchell
29/4/13G.V of Stobhill Hospital sign
Photo by Emma Mitchell
29/4/13
G.V of Stobhill Hospital sign Photo by Emma Mitchell 29/4/13

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) made the discovery during an unannounced visit to the Springburn hospital.

They said the damaged equipment including badly torn chairs, 10 broken bed heads and worn-out drug dispensing trollies, could not be effectively cleaned or decontaminated.

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They have now called for the problem to be rectified within a month.

The £100 million hospital in Springburn opened in a blaze of publicity in 2009.

At the time, NHS bosses described the facility as state-of-the-art and said the new hospital marked a revolution in care.

However, in their latest report, HEI said: “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde must ensure it provides patient equipment that can be effectively cleaned and is safe for use.”

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Inspectors also reported seeing “non-compliance with standard infection control precautions”.

They found that some staff were “unable to describe the correct method to clean a blood spill”; four out of five sharps bins in one area were not correctly labelled; and staff were seen carrying used linen from an isolation room in a clear plastic bag to the linen trolley in the disposal room rather than taking the linen trolley close to the point of use.

They added that that wall-mounted dispensers for aprons and gloves are inside each patient room when they should be stored outside so that staff can put them on before entering.

The HEI also said that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde “must ensure a systematic programme of audits is performed to monitor compliance with standard infection control precautions”.

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HEI found that the general environment in Stobhill is clean but said there are areas which must be improved.

Jacqui Macrae, Head of Quality of Care for Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: “Our inspectors found that the environment in Stobhill Hospital is clean, however there are areas where the hospital can improve.

“For example, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde must ensure it provides patient equipment that can be effectively cleaned and is safe for use.

“The inspection resulted in four requirements and one recommendation which we expect NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to address as a matter of priority.

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“We will continue to monitor the safety and cleanliness at Stobhill Hospital to ensure standards continue to improve.”

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We have now received the HEI Report and are disappointed that there are areas in the hospital that we need to address, particularly on the effective cleaning of patient equipment.

“We have put in place an improvement plan to deal with the four requirements and one recommendation and have already asked infection control to provide further support and advice.”