The first new hospital cleaning standards for 14 years have been outlined by regulators, including confirmation of new food hygiene-style star ratings.
Wards and theatres will be given ratings from one to five stars – based on audits which score the cleanliness of areas against safe standards – and these ratings will be made visible to patients.
The plans for the new star ratings, which are expected to be easier for patients to understand than the current cleanliness percentage scores, were first revealed by HSJ in 2019.
The ratings are also designed to encourage a more collaborative approach, by reflecting the cleanliness score for whole areas, as opposed to the performance of individual parties responsible for cleaning certain elements.
Areas rated one to three stars would require improvement plans and be automatically placed under review, with “immediate action” being required in one-star rated areas.
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Source: HSJ, 6 May 2021
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