Clean Bill of Health
Wednesday, 21 October, 2009
Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust is taking all the necessary measures
to prevent Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI) according to a report
published last month by the Care Quality
Commission (CQC).
Following an unannounced inspection of the Trust in July 2009 the independent regulator of health and social care
in England says that the region's
ambulance service is consistently applying good practices supporting infection control in vehicles and on
equipment.
In addition, the CQC has also confirmed that the 'conditions' set against the Trust's registration with them, with
respect to managing HCAI in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, have
been lifted and YAS now meets all of the registration requirements.
Dr Alison Walker, Medical Director and lead for infection, prevention and control
at YAS, said:"We are delighted with the outcome of the inspection and that our registration with the CQC is complete.
It really is a reflection of the significant efforts of all our staff over the last year. "The safety of our patients is an absolute priority for us and we take infection prevention and control seriously. Patients can now have the highest level of confidence in the cleanliness of our ambulances.
"Our fleet of A&E and nonemergency Patient Transport Service ambulances are
cleaned to the highest standards
across the region - as well as weekly cleans, every vehicle has a 52-point deep
clean every 28 days, in line with national recommendations.
"We will continue to make the fight against HCAI a key priority and we will be making additional investment in our
services to see standards raised even higher in the future."
