DISORGANISED ward kitchens in a Scottish health board area are leaving patients and staff vulnerable to infections, a senior doctor has warned.
DISORGANISED ward kitchens in a Scottish health board area are leaving patients and staff vulnerable to infections, a senior doctor has warned.
A meeting of NHS Tayside Health Board was told that in hospitals and community health centres across the area, kitchens had dirty dishes, incomplete documentation, and food was not being labelled correctly.
The Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) control report, delivered by Dr Gabby Phillips, lead doctor in infection control, showed that standards were not being met in the area's kitchens.
The report said: "Infections contracted while receiving healthcare are a significant cause of ill health. Members of the public reasonably expect that all practicable measures are being taken to reduce the opportunity for acquiring an infection as a result of their treatment and care."
The report said that in September and October, kitchens had passed risk assessment checks only 66 per cent of the time.
Dr Phillips said the situation had not improved since the Board's last meeting at the end of October.
She said: "Last time we met ... I think there was particular concern around kitchens.
"In some wards staff are not aware of kitchen checklists. In others, circumstances were not typical at the time the data was collected -- for instance a dishwasher had broken down, or trays for meal trolley pickups had been missed.
"It's important to balance these [findings] with some good practices that wards can build upon."
The report stated that it was difficult to monitor discipline in certain kitchens, due to the volume of staff using them.
One example of good practice, as identified in the report, is the increased use of unpaid volunteers.
Dr Phillips said: "In some wards they have managed to use volunteers, and in another ward the kitchen closes for a short period to allow domestic cleaners in.
"Unfortunately this won't be enough to improve the results from September and October, but I hope they will improve in the future."
According to the report, during the period covered, there were nearly 100 cases of serious bacterial infections across NHS Tayside, including one case of MRSA, and kitchens were consistently among the top three worst performing elements when it came to infection control across the entire system.
Hospitals and centres monitored included Arbroath Infirmary, Aberfeldy Community Hospital, Blairgowrie Community Hospital, the Murray Royal Hospital in Perth, Brechin Infirmary, Pitlochry Community Hospital, Montrose Royal Infirmary, Crieff Community Hospital, the Whitehills Health & Community Care Centre in Forfar, the Carseview Centre in Dundee, Little Cairnie Hospital, Arbroath, St Margarets Hospital, Auchterarder, and the Royal Dundee Liff Hospital.
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