HOSPITAL bosses have been hailed for turning around cleanliness standards on wards.

Inspectors paid an unannounced visit to Hairmyres Hospital, having previously found issues during checks in 2014 and 2015.

Following investigations on May 9 and 10, a Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) report found infection control procedures were good.

Alastair McGown, Senior Inspector for Healthcare Improvement Scotland, said: “In this inspection of wards and the theatre department we found that staff knowledge of standard infection control precautions was generally good, and there was good leadership in relation to infection prevention and control.

“We have advised NHS Lanarkshire that it must continue to progress with actions already under way to make sure sufficient support and resource is available to the medical receiving unit to ensure a safe and clean environment.

“We expect NHS Lanarkshire to address the areas for improvement we have identified as a matter of priority.”

Some minor issues were raised in the report, such as single use patient toiletries being used more than once, mops not being correctly stored and hand sanitiser bottles not being filled.

On ward 2, the medical receiving unit, staffing issues were causing pressure on nurses that were impacting on cleanliness.

This has since been addressed, according to the report.

Emer Shepherd, NHS Lanarkshire’s head of infection prevention and control, said: “Overall this is a positive report and we are pleased that the inspectors have recognised the hard work that has taken place to improve standards at Hairmyres Hospital."

According to the report, the ward inspection resulted in four requirements and two recommendations for hospital bosses while the theatre

inspection resulted in three recommendations.

Ms Shepherd added: “We are also pleased that inspectors found staff knowledge of standard infection control precautions to be good, and that there was good leadership in relation to infection prevention and control.

"We are committed to making further improvements and work is already underway to address the requirements detailed in the report.

“We will continually monitor progress to ensure we strive for the highest standards of cleanliness and infection control at Hairmyres.”