New hospital cleaning guidelines will be distributed

The recommendations cover the method and frequency of cleaning, internal monitoring of standards and the training of relevant staff.

They will act as an interim guide until further recommendations are available from the Scottish Executive task force on hospital acquired infections (HAIs).

The new standards were unveiled on Tuesday by the Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

Standards of cleanliness in Scotland's hospitals were put in the spotlight by two official reports earlier this year.

In January, a report by the health watchdog NHS Quality Improvement Scotland said too many NHS trusts had inadequate procedures in place to tackle hospital infections.

Training and development

Another report, from the financial watchdog Audit Scotland, called for improvement after it conducted spot checks on 74 hospitals and found only half had high levels of cleanliness on wards.

Tuesday's announcement will see clear interim guidelines issued to healthcare professionals in an attempt to improve cleanliness.

The key elements include:

• specifications on the level and type of cleaning in different hospital areas

• guidance on internal monitoring, and auditing of cleaning services

• recommendations on the training and development of staff with cleaning responsibilities.

Mr Chisholm said: "Clean hospitals and the highest standards of infection control are an absolute priority for NHS Scotland.

"Cleaning service staff are an essential part of the multi-disciplinary approach to increased public, patient and staff safety.

"As part of the multi-disciplinary team, cleaning service staff should rightly expect to be managed, supervised and trained which is why I believe it is essential that staff training and development is emphasised in the cleaning specifications."

'Matrons' call

The Tories called for the return of matrons to oversee cleanliness standards on hospital wards.

The party's health spokesman David Davidson said: "Our hospital wards need someone with experience, authority and the respect of the patients and staff to rigorously apply hygiene standards.

"This 'special sister' or 'modern matron' could assist in improving hygiene standards, and would also afford patients a recognisable person to whom they can go with problems and concerns.

"By sitting on its hands for too long, the executive allowed a long-recognised problem to deteriorate."