Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
999 BOSSES TOLD: CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
Ambulance bases dirty and in disrepair Chiefs given two weeks to sort mess
AMBULANCE chiefs have been given a fortnight to clean up their act or face serious consequences, it emerged yesterday.
In an unprecedented move, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority issued the service with “improvement notices”.
It came after unannounced inspections in July to “measure hygiene, cleanliness and state of repair of the station, vehicles, and aspects of infection prevention and control” found standards unacceptable.
At the Broadway site, in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital in West Belfast, the “general environment” scored just 27% with the “minimal compliance”, being 75%.
Follow-up visits at the end of last month found little improvement.
The NIAS was warned it has until October 30 to comply or face what are called “special measures”. In a statement issued to the Mirror, the RQIA said: “We identified significant patient safety concerns which related to the cleaning of ambulances and patient equipment, staff knowledge and practices and the station environment.
“We also identified concerns regarding internal monitoring and assurances of infection prevention and control at both Broadway and Bangor stations.
“RQIA considers that governance and operational systems at both stations continue to fall below the required standard.
“As a result of our continued concerns, RQIA has issued four improvement notices to the NIAS.”
Issues spotted by inspectors at Broadway in July included “urgent improvement” being required in the general environment and a “poor standard of cleanliness”.
They also found: “Many of the station’s internal fixtures and fittings are old, worn and in poor condition. The domestic and ambulance sluice areas are not fit for purpose and are in urgent need of refurbishment.
“We observed extensive staining and damage to walls, floors, cupboards and sanitary wear in these areas.
“The station has a leaking roof. We observed significant water damage throughout the station to ceilings and walls.
“Staff reported they have to routinely cover electrical equipment to prevent water damage and equipment in the store has been disposed of due to water damage.”
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it had been informed of “serious concerns relating to Infection Prevention and Hygiene at both sites, following recent unannounced visits”. It added: “NIAS shares the concerns identified in the report and is committed to addressing them to ensure we become compliant with each of the standards assessed.
“Meetings and engagement with RQIA have been ongoing since July.
“Actions plans have been developed which dealt with some of the immediate issues identified and reviews are underway of processes to ensure their sustainability in the medium to long term.
“NIAS takes seriously the issue of infection prevention and control.
“And while we are confident that these plans will result in compliance, NIAS will continue to engage with RQIA to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these action plans.”
BELFAST YESTERDAY