Nenagh Hospital, in Co Tipperary
Eilish O'Regan

Three of Ireland's major hospitals reported to have serious infection risks

Inspectors say patients are at serious risk of infection or scalding, while some medical equipment was dirty and staff failed to wash their hands

By Healthcare Facilities Today


Inspectors who visited the Mater, Tallaght and St Vincent's hospitals have found failures by staff to follow basic infection-control rules, according to an article on the Independent website.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report follows a previous unfavorable inspections of other major hospitals.

The report, following inspections in August, again found that doctors were not washing their hands between treating patients, while staff followed key infection-control protection on just nine of the 17 times they were observed, the article said. The inspectors discovered a "black substance" in some shower areas, unclean hand sinks and "unlabelled syringes" containing unknown solutions that posed a risk of injury.

The article quoted the report warning: "Observations suggest that a culture of hand-hygiene practice is not embedded at all levels, especially among staff practices observed by the authority on St Joseph's ward."

Read the article.

 

 

 



October 24, 2013


Topic Area: Safety


Recent Posts

Cyberattack Results in Patient Reroutes at Anne Arundel Medical Center

A recent cyberattack on Luminis Health Care led to care disruptions and treatment cancelations at Maryland hospital.


Tangram Furnishes Be Well OC Irvine Behavioral Health Campus

Case study: Through a public-private partnership, Be Well OC’s 22-acre Irvine campus expands Orange County’s continuum of behavioral healthcare.


Suntree Internal Medicine Reports Data Breach

Suntree Internal Medicine has no evidence of misuse, or attempted misuse, of any potentially affected information.


Why Healthcare Facilities Management Is Critical to Patient Safety 

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities rely on much more than doctors and nurses to keep patients safe.


Sanford Health and North Memorial Health Finalize Partnership

An integration process is underway to create a unified organization.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.