DoH: Failures are taken seriously
Friday, 25 Apr 2008 12:01
Any instances of unfit hospital equipment would be taken very seriously, the Department of Health (DoH) has said.
It comments follow claims from the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) that outsourcing cleaning of equipment to private sector centres has not been a widespread success.
Unfit, broken equipment has resulted in some operations being cancelled, the RCS says.
Equipment used to be sterilised and cared for on-site but NHS trusts are now being encouraged by the government to use private sector companies.
"Hospitals have a legal responsibility to ensure surgical equipment is clean and safe," a DoH spokesperson said.
"Failure to do this would be taken very seriously by the government and the independent health watchdog, the Healthcare Commission.
"The hospitals and the company concerned must work together to ensure that all unsuitable instruments are removed from use and that all staff - whether in operating theatres or reprocessing centres - follow best practice guidelines."
