Royal Gwent Hospital(Week In Week Out: Special Investigation) - New Labour failure.

My local hospital - which I pass each day on the way to and coming back from work( work being something that the 1 in 5 of the population of Merthyr Tydfil, who are on the sick know fuck all about the lazy cunts) was featured on the BBC program - Week In Week Out.

It showed that cleaners ignored procedures, that all the talk from New Labour over tackling C. Diff and other latter day plagues killing folk in hospitals has been nowt but total horse shit.

After seeing this program, I hope that should I fall ill that it happens in work(as I work outside of Newport ) and fingers crossed will be taken to a cleaner hospital elsewhere!

The below is from the Week In Week Out site:

One of Wales' leading hospitals has promised a major overhaul of hygiene and security after an undercover investigation by Week In Week Out revealed shocking failures.

Tonight's programme also exposes how the deadly hospital bug Clostridium difficile has spread much further and infected far more patients than has ever been publicly reported in Wales.

Secret filming at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport shows how measures to control the spread of potentially deadly infections like C. difficile were ignored. The undercover journalist was hired as a cleaner through recruitment agency Smart Solutions. No one checked her references or whether she had a criminal record.

After just 10 minutes' training on how to use a mop and a bucket she was working on the wards alongside agency and hospital cleaners where she filmed serious breeches of hygiene policy which increase the risk of spreading infections such as C. difficile.

C. difficile forms tiny spores which can be passed on via clothing or contact, and unlike the MRSA bug, cannot be eliminated by simply using special gels which can be found on most wards. Instead it has to be wiped away, meaning that cloths, disposable gloves and aprons that have been used for cleaning have to be carefully disposed of to reduce the risk of cross contamination. The bug can cause serious infection of the bowel and is resistant to most antibiotics. In fact, taking antibiotics can cause the infection to take hold, as it remains when other bacteria, both good and bad, have been killed off by medication.

The infection is a growing problem for hospitals across Wales. Families of patients who had the bug at the Royal Gwent had already complained about hygiene standards, and improvements had been promised.

Seventy-seven-year-old Sybil Monahan from Blackwood died at the hospital last November - her family complained to the Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust about poor cleaning practices during her stay. They received an apology and were assured things would get better.

Sybil's daughter-in-law, Suzanne Monahan says: "We never, ever expected her to die in hospital. If we'd known beforehand that this was going to be the outcome, we would never have let her go in there, ever."

But almost six months later the undercover investigation shows there were still major problems. While working at the hospital the journalist witnessed a catalogue of failures to follow infection control procedures including:

• Cleaners failing to use disposable gloves and aprons which could have stemmed the transfer of C.diff spores or other infections
• Nurses failing to pass on information to cleaners about how a room should be treated
• Using the same mop and the same cloths to clean barrier and non barrier rooms
• Food being served next to where bags full of infected linen were kept
• Areas timetabled for a "deep scrub" left undone because cleaners couldn't get round all their duties in time.

The Trust's medical director Dr Grant Robinson says, in light of Week In Week Out's evidence, it is reviewing its hygiene and recruitment policies and procedures. He has promised an inquiry and major improvements. Smart Solutions says it has complied with the requirements of the Trust and will continue working with it to improve all aspects of the recruitment process.

The Royal Gwent is not the only hospital with hygiene problems. The widow of a patient who died at The University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff has been promised an inquiry after failures in the care of her husband Ray Rees, who suffered C. diff on the wards last year. Ann Rees, from Ystrad Mynach was not told that he had it. Ray, who was 65, was not isolated from other patients and staff didn't explain the implications of the infection. After being treated he was discharged from hospital but quickly had to be re-admitted when its severe symptoms of c'difficile returned. He underwent surgery to remove his bowel but never recovered.

Ann says if she had been told he had the infection, she could have got help sooner. She says: "He was left here to die in front of my eyes for four days and it's unforgivable. I can't forgive them for that."

The hospital disputes knowing Ray had the bug when he left hospital but Ian Lane, Medical Director of the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust admits the case highlights failings in communication and infection control.

The special investigation also reveal that the deadly C. difficile bug has spread much further and infected far more patients than has ever been publicly reported in Wales. Rates appear lower than in England, because unlike their counterparts, the Wales Public Health Service does not include victims under the age of 65. In England, there is a more comprehensive picture with all patients aged two and over included in published statistics.

Using the Freedom of Information Act the programme discovered that in some parts of Wales - hospitals had treated far more patients than had been publicly reported.

Chief Medical officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell says the method for collecting and publishing figures is going to be reviewed.

**That fills me with confidence, some bean counter is going to have a review.

What also fills me with confidence is that none of the Newport MP's has said a word, not a sodding peep from either of them about this program.

Quite strange that as Mr Paul Flynn likes to comment on Newport matters on his website.

Labour policy on hospital cleaning shot to buggery by undercover reporting and our two Labour MP's are as quiet as the proverbial church mice.

.