By Natalie Walker
The Scotsman
SCOTLAND — Inspectors have criticised the cleanliness of some of Scotland’s ambulances and revealed some crews are using filthy mops to clean their vehicles.
The Scottish Ambulance service has been given just one month to improve the cleanliness of all its vehicles following an unannounced visit by inspectors.
A Healthcare Environment Inspectorate report also called for the service to introduce new measures to prevent the spread of infection between patients and crews, and to make sure ambulance staff adhere to strict dress codes.
The call came after investigators saw staff wearing jewellery, watches and nail varnish which have all previously been banned by ambulance bosses to stop the spread of infection.
Susan Brimelow, Chief Inspector of HEI, said “Overall we found that infection control is not fully embedded into all aspects of the Scottish Ambulance Service.
“In particular, we found poor communication between the infection control team and staff, and there was inconsistent completion of documentation relating to the cleaning of vehicles. We expect the Scottish Ambulance Service to address these issues as a matter of priority.”
A spokesman for the service said: “We recognise that more work needs to be done to improve communications and documentation and we have implemented an action plan that addresses the areas highlighted by the report.
“The Scottish Ambulance Service is absolutely committed to managing the control of infection across all operations, which encompass around 900 vehicles operating from more than 150 stations across Scotland.”
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