Infection Prevention and Control

Our domestic staff (cleaners) are employed by the Trust, not contracted in. This means they can undertake regular training to keep up with the latest infection control updates.

All ward areas are inspected regularly and are reviewed by cleanliness groups which include patients.

All of our toilets are inspected on a regular basis. We ask visitors not to use ward toilets.

If you come across any cleanliness issues as a patient or visitor in our Trust, please let a member of staff know.

If you are unwell, please do not visit unless absolutely necessary. If your visit is essential, please ring the ward to discuss this.

Please click here to see the contact details for all our wards.

The staff on the ward will be able to advise you.

If it is safe, we will ask you to wash your hands thoroughly before and after visiting. You may also be asked to wear gloves and an apron.

You should ask them if they have cleaned their hands as they may have done it before entering the room. It is your right to insist that they wash their hands and we encourage you to bring this to their attention.

In most cases, using alcohol hand rub is acceptable so do not be alarmed if you do not see staff washing with soap and water.

Yes it is safe to visit. Please wash your hands and rub your hands with alcohol gel from dispensers at the ward entrance and elsewhere on the ward before and after visiting a patient.

The main way germs are transferred to patients is on hands, but uniforms can become contaminated during the course of a day at work. The trust’s policy states that staff who work in the hospitals should not wear uniforms outside of work. However, many of our staff work outside the hospital in GP surgeries and patients’ homes. They do need to wear uniforms outside of the hospital environment but follow strict laundering instructions for their uniforms.

MRSA is short for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It is a strain of germ called Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to an antibiotic called Methicillin. Many people have this germ living on them (commonly in the nose) without it causing any harm. When it does cause an infection it can be treated with a limited number of other antibiotics. A small minority of MRSA infections are in the blood stream, these are the most serious. A patient leaflet is available.

Clostridium difficile is a germ that can cause diarrhoea in some patients. It is present in the gut of many patients without causing illness but if a person receives treatment with certain types of antibiotics the germs can multiply and cause infection.  A patient leaflet is available.