12:16pm Wednesday 16th January 2008
By Siobhan Ryan
Two hospitals are undergoing a intensive cleaning programme as part of moves to cut back on infections.
East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust is carrying out deep cleaning in all wards and clinical areas at Eastbourne District General Hospital and the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards.
The move forms part of the national deep clean of hospitals announced by Health Secretary Alan Johnson last November.
The trust has been given £450,000 to carry out the work and enhance its own continuing campaign to reduce cases of MRSA, Clostridium difficile and other hospital acquired infections.
Trust director of infection control Subramaniam Umasankar said: "Infection control and patient safety is a priority.
"We have made significant progress on reducing infections showing a year on year reduction in the number of hospital cases. However we are not complacent.
"It is important for everyone in the trust and the community to help reduce infection rates by understanding the importance of implementing good infection prevention and control at all times.
"This enhanced deep cleaning programme will decontaminate our hospitals."
Every ward will be thoroughly cleaned including bed frames, lockers, behind radiators, air vents, lights, shelves, corridors, bathrooms, floors, computers, telephones, kitchens, curtains, linen skips, trolleys, fans and work surfaces.
Along with traditional disinfectants other methods such as hydrogen peroxide vaporisation and steam cleaning will be used where appropriate.
Patients will be moved from an area about to be cleaned to one which has already been cleaned to enable the programme to take place.
The trust's infection control staff will sign off each area as compliant with Department of Health guidelines before cleaners can move on.
The work is expected to be finished by the end of March.
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