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Failing hygiene test: full list

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 03 April 2009

Twenty-one NHS trusts have failed to meet hygiene standards set by a new "super-regulator" for health and social care.

All trusts were told they had to meet Government standards on cleanliness as part of their registration with the new Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Ten acute hospital trusts, six primary care trusts, four mental health care trusts and one ambulance trust have had conditions placed on their registration as a result of failing to meet the criteria fully. Of these, four are NHS foundation trusts.

Trusts with conditions on registration:

To see the conditions place on the registration of these trusts, click here (.xls).

Some trusts have been given a deadline for taking action to meet hygiene standards while others have ongoing conditions on their registration, such as the need to keep wards clean.

Examples include ensuring the decontamination of surgical equipment is up to scratch and developing tighter policies to tackle infections like MRSA, Clostridium difficile and legionella, which causes legionnaires' disease.

The conditions are legally enforceable. Failure to act means trusts could be issued with warning notices and fines, or face prosecution or closure.

Overall, 388 NHS trusts have been registered with the CQC.

The CQC came into force on Wednesday and replaces the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission.

As part of their assessment, trusts declared whether they were compliant with national hygiene standards.

The CQC also looked at other information, including patient and staff surveys, hygiene inspections carried out by the Healthcare Commission, and MRSA and C diff rates.

Of the 21 trusts, 13 declared non-compliance with some of the criteria set down by the CQC for registration.

In another eight cases, the CQC had evidence that the trust had failed to achieve required standards for infection control on repeated occasions, had a high infection rate and/or was identified by the Healthcare Commission as having substantial issues that could risk patient safety.

Over the next year, up to half of all NHS trusts providing acute, primary care, mental health and ambulance services will be inspected by the CQC.

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