HOUSE-keeping staff has today praised a new cleaning system to reduce hospital acquired infections.Two teams at West Suffolk Hospital tried out microfibre cloths and mops for seven months and found them even more effective at picking up dirt than their usual cleaners.

HOUSE keeping staff has today praised a new cleaning system to reduce hospital acquired infections.

Two teams at West Suffolk Hospital tried out microfibre cloths and mops for seven months and found them even more effective at picking up dirt than their usual cleaners.

The new system costs £33,000 and is part of a package of measures, spearheaded by the hospital's Infection Control Team, in efforts to further reduce health-associated infections.

Tracey Robertson, acting supervisor, who has worked in the hospital for 24 years, is convinced the hospital will be a cleaner place as a result.

She said: “I take a great deal of pride in what I do, as do all the housekeepers.

“This system makes floors, windows, stainless steel surfaces, such as taps - everything - that much cleaner and shinier.”

More thorough cleaning, which sees even the curtain rings disinfected, takes place once they are alerted to an MRSA bacteraemia or Clostridium Difficile case in a ward.

She said: “We work very closely with Infection Control, which means we know exactly how important it is to clean an area even more thoroughly when asked to.

“So often the cleaners get blamed for hospital acquired infections, but these diseases, like diarrhoea and vomiting and MRSA, are often brought in by visitors.

“That does upset me. If people just thought to wash their hands properly and use the hand gel provided - which is now everywhere - it would help to cut down on the spread of these infections.”

The hospital announced in February it was successful in its bid for £300,000 to further reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.

The money was provided by the NHS East of England from a budget set aside for infection control projects.