By Mark Macaskill
Sunday Times
DUNFERMLINE EAST, Scotland — Paramedics claim they have been refused permission to clean ambulances in order to meet government-imposed response times, risking the spread of hospital-acquired infections.
Requests to “deep clean” vehicles after patients have been sick or had diarrhoea have been turned down in case they compromise targets, according to ambulance crews.
From next April paramedics will have to answer 75% of life-threatening emergencies within eight minutes. The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is already gearing up for the target but paramedics say unacceptable corners are being cut, threatening the spread of bugs, including MRSA and clostridium difficile.
Helen Eadie, the Labour MSP for Dunfermline East, has raised the issue with Nicola Sturgeon, the health minister, following complaints by crews in her area.
“The emphasis on the eight-minute target is the main problem. Our concern is that we are being refused permission to even clean vehicles between jobs, even if it’s not fit for purpose,” said one paramedic.
“Staff are concerned. We are going home to our families but we don’t know what infectious disease we might be passing on.”
Another paramedic from West Lothian said: “We just don’t have time to clean the vehicles, we’re struggling. It’s getting worse with the pressure of work and calls have gone through the roof.
“In this day and age, with the amount of infection going about, an ambulance should be deep cleaned at least once a week but that isn’t happening.”
Eadie said she was “gravely concerned” about the issue, adding: “The journey to or from hospital in an NHS vehicle has to be free, so far as is humanly possible, from any infection.”
Jonathan Fox from the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel said: “The fight against superbugs cannot stop at the hospital door. The ambulance service is part of the total patient care package and nobody should have to be transported or work in a dirty ambulance. The issue of ambulance cleanliness is simply not being taken seriously enough.”
The SAS said: “We have established infection-control policies in place. These processes require that vehicles should have both a daily and weekly clean and that the interior of the vehicle is wiped down after each patient. Standards of infection control are very important to us.”