Waterford hospital seeks funding to replace 300 mattresses

Waterford Regional Hospital is seeking extra funding to replace about 300 mattresses after health inspectors found many were dirty or torn.

The Health Information and Quality Authority told the hospital that mattresses with torn covers and damaged or stained bases could pose a risk of infection to patients and should be replaced.

“The hospital needs to both replace these damaged mattresses, and be assured that there is a process in place to monitor and replace damaged mattresses to minimise the risk to patients on an ongoing basis,” Hiqa said in a report published yesterday.

Inspectors noted that in addition to a 100 per cent bed occupancy rate on each of the wards they examined, an extra patient was accommodated in the corridor of each ward. Hospital staff told them this was a temporary arrangement due to increased numbers of patients coming to the emergency department.

The report found that although this was a far from ideal situation, the facility was clean and well-maintained and patients’ privacy was protected as much as possible.

Hiqa expressed concern about the non-availability of clinical waste bins in isolation rooms at the hospital. While the hospital has an alternative system of disposal by filling bags where waste was generated and disposing of them centrally, Hiqa says it is not satisfied this approach is adequate in all scenarios.

Improvements required

A separate inspection report on Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, Co Meath, found the male ward was “clean with some exceptions”. Improvements were required in the maintenance of the environment.

A report on South Infirmary hospital in Cork found the children’s ward was “clean with some exceptions” but improvements were required in the cleanliness and maintenance of the cleaning storage room and the cleaning of equipment.