New healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission has singled out 21 NHS Trusts for not meeting required standards for infection control.

All 388 NHS Trusts were assessed by the CQC and while all were registered, 21 trusts only made it the list subject to improving standards within agreed timescales.

Among the criteria examined was how trusts dealt with legionella and MRSA, which can grow in or spread through hvac systems.

This is the first step towards full registration on all basic standards for healthcare trusts, a regime that will come into force from April 2010.

Public health consultant David Harper welcomed the report but said the delay in implementing the new tougher regime was not ideal.

“April 2010 is too late, we want this introduced now. I don’t want to sound dramatic but lives are literally at stake.”

Mr Harper urged the hvac industry to play a key role in keeping hospitals free from infection, both in terms of developing products and providing expertise in their installation.

The full list of 21 NHS Trusts which must take remedial action is published on the H&V News website.

In 13 of the 21 cases, the trust declared non-compliance with registration criteria that CQC used for judgement. In eight cases, the CQC had evidence that the trust had failed to achieve required standards for infection control on repeated occasions, had a high infection rate and/or the Healthcare Commission identified substantial issues that represented a potential risk to patients’ safety at an inspection last year.

Ten acute trusts, six primary care trusts, four mental health care trusts and one ambulance trust were registered with conditions. Four of these are foundation trusts. Some conditions are ongoing, such as keeping wards clean, while others have a deadline for taking action (ranging from one to eight months).

The CQC has said it will pay particular attention to monitoring and inspecting non-acute services. Until now, hygiene inspections have targeted predominantly the acute sector, where most infections tend to occur.

Read full article: H&V News.