Cleanliness inspection held at RAH
Inspectors arrived at the Royal Alexandra Hospital this week after whistleblowers raised concerns about cleanliness of clinical areas.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland commenced an unannounced visit to the Paisley hospital on Monday and remained at the Corseford Road campus for three days.
The inspection comes just weeks after trade union representatives raised the alarm about a reduction in domestic staff and their struggle to maintain high standards of cleanliness.
An estimated 10 per cent deficit in domestic staff could lead to the spread of dangerous infections, the Unison reps have warned.
Barbara Steel, a Unison rep at the RAH, told the Express: “There is often only one domestic to cover an area that would typically need two or three workers.
“That one person, there is only so much they can do on their own.
“We are by no means saying the hospital is filthy.
“The staff are doing their jobs well but there just aren’t enough of them and that means they are not able to clean the hospital to the high standards needed.
“The wards are priortisied but there are other clinical areas that are not getting the full attention and the stress for staff is overwhelming if they can’t get cleaning an area they know needs done... they know the importance of cleaning the hospital in terms of infection prevention and control.
“We first raised this with senior management nearly one year ago now and despite several reassuring meetings, we are no further forward.”
Barbara and fellow Unison rep Margaret Duffy took their concerns to Neil Bibby MSP earlier this year, who shared their worries with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
It’s understood the watchdog has reached out to concerned staff and had been in dialogue with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde before embarking on the inspection this week.
Margaret said: “We welcome this hospital inspection. We will be looking closely to see what recommendations will come from that. Obviously we don’t know the outcome of the inspection but we hope it will help management see we need more domestic staff at the hospital.”
The last unannounced inspection of the RAH took place in December 2018. Inspections are more generally scheduled for health care settings with the use of a “prioritisation process”, which staff whistleblowers and patients can feed into.
Mr Bibby (pictured) said: “RAH staff go above and beyond all year round to care for us. Unison reps at the RAH have raised serious concerns about the impact a lack of all staffing at our hospital and in particular the reduction in domestic staff.
“The issues raised by Unison reps must be addressed by the health board and vacancies filled as matter of urgency. I welcome that an official inspection has been carried out and we await its findings and recommendations.
“It is essential that staff are properly supported and patients can be reassured they are receiving the highest standards of care.”
The news comes months after NHS bosses confirmed there had been a legionella outbreak in two wards at the RAH. The water supply in wards 36 and 37 had been contaminated with potentially fatal bacteria.
Patients were decanted from the wards which remained closed for several weeks.
A spokesperson for NHSGGC said Healthcare Improvement Scotland conducted a three-day site-wide inspection of the hospital, which concluded on Wednesday.
Explaining management would await the associated report, the spokesperson said: “Cleanliness standards are monitored on a regular and consistent basis with robust and transparent governance in place to support this.
“Quality audits of cleaning standards are regularly carried out. Any issues are immediately rectified, with the area re-audited and followed up.
“A significant piece of work has also been undertaken within RAH domestic services to ensure that staffing levels meet requirements. All approved vacancies are moving forward via the appropriate recruitment process.”
They added: “Our staff continue to provide compassionate, personcentred care to our patients and we are grateful for their hard work and dedication.”
Healthcare Improvement Scotland was approached for comment.