A NEW mum has today told of her fears over the "disgusting" cleaning practices she witnessed in the maternity unit at Ipswich Hospital.Marianne Suchowij, 23, of Dandelan Close, had a baby daughter, Morgan, at the hospital on March 6.

A NEW mum has today told of her fears over the "disgusting" cleaning practices she witnessed in the maternity unit at Ipswich Hospital.

Marianne Suchowij, 23, of Dandelan Close, had a baby daughter, Morgan, at the hospital on March 6.

She said: "I was put in the Deben ward and the cleaning standards were absolutely disgusting.

"I was in there after everything had happened with baby Luke and I would have thought things would have changed, but they obviously hadn't.

"The lady that was cleaning used the same cloth to clean round the windows and the bedside cabinets as she did to wipe the food trays that go over the bed.

"She mopped the floor and then used the same mop to go round all the curtain rails and in all this time I did not see her touch a bucket of water."

"For them to be cleaning that way is ridiculous.

"I wouldn't clean my house that way, yet they are cleaning a hospital like it. No wonder they've got cross infection.

"Luckily I was in and out in one day. I would not have wanted to stay there."

Jan Rowsell, spokeswoman for the hospital, stressed that this was an isolated incident and immediate action had been taken to resolve the problem.

She said: "We thank Miss Suchowij for her comments which reinforce what staff had already highlighted.

"Standards of cleaning in our hospital are constantly monitored and our cleaning staff undergo thorough training before undertaking their roles.

"This training continues all of the time but there may be isolated incidents such as this when we need to address issues.

"What is clear is that there were concerns and immediate action was taken to resolve them."

Ms Rowsell added cleaning methods in the ward had been reviewed.

As a result of the concerns, vacuuming has now been introduced.

She said: "In this particular area this is judged to be a more effective way of taking away dust and dirt."

Standards of hygiene and cleanliness at the hospital's maternity unit have been under the spotlight since it was revealed that two-day-old Luke Day had become Britain's youngest victim of MRSA.

He died at Ipswich Hospital in February just 36-hours after he was born.

Inquiries into how he contracted the bug are continuing.

What are your experiences of the maternity unit at Ipswich Hospital? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk