Inspectors find hospital ward wasn’t painted for 10 years

Patients at Letterkenny General Hospital are at serious risk of acquiring an infection from substandard hygiene practices, the State's health watchdog has said.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) warned the hospital about the risks to patients in a letter to the hospital last June, which set out a series of shortcomings that needed to be remedied.

These included poor hand-washing hygiene by staff, substandard cleaning processes and deficits in maintenance on a ward. In one ward, which hadn’t been painted for 10 years, floor covering was degraded and missing and paintwork and plaster flaking for five years.

Hiqa also expressed concern the risk of infection from invasive aspergillosis was not being properly managed.

The letter was issued followed an unannounced inspection by Hiqa in June. However, a follow-up inspection in July found little improvement in most areas.

The original inspection found overall environmental hygiene in two areas was poor, with unacceptable levels of dust on most surfaces in a medical ward. Alcohol gel dispensers were sticky and unclean and computer keyboards and phones were visibly dusty.

“Frequently touched surfaces such as computer keyboards and telephone receivers are regularly found to be contaminated with MRSA and other microorganisms and therefore should be included in the daily ward cleaning schedule,” inspectors commented.

In washrooms, brown staining was visible on some toilet roll holders, seats bowls and grab-rails. “Inspectors found that many surfaces in a patient toilet remained unclean following the morning cleaning session.”

No significant improvement in the overall standard of environmental hygiene was noted during July’s re-inspection, with dust and brown staining widely visible.

An inspection of mattresses found most were “compromised” with significant visible staining inside the covers. “One mattress interior was grossly stained and malodorous and the mattress cover was visibly damaged.”

The hospital told inspectors the two wards were being refurbished, with works to be completed by next February.

A separate inspection report into the Mater Hospital in Dublin found opportunities for improvement in the cleanliness of a ward and the intensive care unit.

“It found poor compliance with hygiene audits in most areas of the hospital and expressed concern over the use of fans in areas where major abdominal surgery was being carried out.”