A NEW survey by the Healthcare Commission has found that hospitals are getting dirtier rather than cleaner despite efforts to crack down on the MRSA superbug.
A NEW survey by the Healthcare Commission has found that hospitals are getting dirtier rather than cleaner despite efforts to crack down on the MRSA superbug.
Ipswich Hospital has, however, received its detailed analysis back from the commission and the results show patients are increasingly happy with the levels of cleanliness they are seeing.
Jan Rowsell, spokeswoman for the hospital, said: "The detailed results for our hospital show that we've improved.
"These surveys are crucially important to us because they show us what patients really feel about their experience in the hospital.
"This year's survey shows that we are getting there with our objectives of making sure that there's a very clean environment for patients."
Nationally, A&E departments were singled out as the main cause for concern.
There was a drop in the numbers of people rating A&E departments as "very clean", from 49pc to 44pc.
There was also a drop of 6pc to 53pc in those rating the outpatient departments as very clean.
Some 9pc of patients who visited A&E departments in June, July and August said they were not very clean or not at all clean, an increase of 1pc on the year before.
And 17pc rated toilets in A&E in those low categories. In 14 NHS trusts this figure was 30pc or higher.
Despite the A&E department at Ipswich Hospital seeing more patients more quickly than ever before, Ms Rowsell said the hospital has managed to maintain its cleanliness by introducing a modern matron and a housekeeper to keep a watchful eye on it.
The results of the Healthcare Commission's survey will go towards the hospitals star ratings this year.
Surveys were carried out in all 153 acute trusts in England with an emergency department, and all 169 with outpatient facilities (excluding maternity or psychiatric units).
Each drew a random sample of 850 patients.
What do you think of the standard of cleanliness 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
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