Drive for hospital cleanliness is 'bearing fruit'

Speaking during an Assembly health debate, Ulster Unionist health spokesperson, John McCallister MLA, said that the work of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) is a "vital component of our health and social care system" and is critical in ensuring public confidence.

"RQIA performs a function that is critical to the safety and the smooth working of hospitals and other establishments. It shows where best practice is delivering results and where we have to work to improve standards.

"Its report shows clearly that the Minister's drive for better standards of cleanliness in hospitals since he took office is bearing fruit. The standard of cleanliness in hospitals is much better today than it was before devolution, and I hope that it will continue to get better.

"While RQIA believe that clinical leadership at ward level is key to moving hygiene standards forward, the proposed changes are not such a major departure from current practice.

"Those who clean our hospital wards do an excellent job, but it is clear that more can be done through a more strategic approach to hygiene. The RQIA believes that that can be achieved by providing an individual with the responsibility and authority to ensure that standards are met and held in each ward of a hospital. That seems to a sensible approach that can be examined going forward."