Patients at Tallaght Hospital ‘may be at serious infection risk’

Patients at Tallaght Hospital were at serious risk of infection due to poor hygiene standards, a lack of testing facilities and broken furnishings, according to the Health Information and Quality Authority.

The authority wrote to the hospital last July to say its inspectors identified specific issues that “may present a serious risk to the health and welfare of patients, visitors and staff”.

It said there was a “significant deficit” at senior level in the hospital in the governance, management and leadership of the prevention and control of infections.

According to Hiqa, patients with serious infections were not being effectively managed because of an “insufficient clinical microbiology resource” in place. “As a result, efforts to prevent and control healthcare associated infections at your hospital are severely restricted. This represents a high risk to patients.”

Several items of frequently used patient equipment in one ward were unclean, posing a risk of transmission of infection between patients.

The letter is also critical of Tallaght’s failure to comply with hand hygiene rules. Its performance in a hand hygiene audit was considerably lower than HSE targets and also lower than the performance of other hospitals.

The floor covering in the Franks Ward was damaged and beginning to lift, and a significant area of floor covering was missing beside a patient bed leaving exposed concrete. The hospital said this matter was referred to the technical department over two years ago but had still not been addressed.

“A blood stain was visible on the floor beside a patient’s bed along with a tourniquet in a six bedded unit on Franks Ward. Unacceptable levels of dust were present on bed frames, the undercarriages of beds, floor edges, behind lockers and casements over patients beds on some of the areas inspected on Franks Ward,” the Hiqa report states.

Hiqa inspectors found extensive damage to plasterwork and paintwork on wall, door frames and radiators throughout the wards. They also raised specific concerns in relation to the risks posed by legionella and aspergillus.

The hospital accepted many of the findings made by Hiqa and undertook to effect improvements.

A second unannounced inspection was carried out in August and the Hiqa reported “significant improvement” that showed the hospital was working towards implementing its recommendations.