CLEAN YOUR ACT UP; Hospitals fail test.

Byline: EMILY COOK

DESPITE a huge drive to clean up hospitals, 21 NHS trusts are still failing hygiene tests.

The trusts came up short in a range of areas including clean wards and surgical tools and tackling infections such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile and legionella.

Now they have been given deadlines by new watchdog the Care Quality Commission, which came into being yesterday, to clean up their act or face fines, prosecution or closure. Barbara Young of the CQC said: "While infection rates aren't necessarily higher, they can do more to help prevent outbreaks.

"We will monitor performance and will not hesitate to use enforcement powers to protect patients' safety."

The CQC, which replaced the Healthcare Commission after fears over its effectiveness, told trusts they had to meet its standards to register. Out of 388, 10 acute hospital trusts, six primary care, four mental health and one ambulance trust failed.

The 21 trusts which were not clean enough are: Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust Barnet, Enfield And Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust Barts And The London NHS Trust Coventry And Warwickshire

Partnership NHS Trust Herefordshire PCT Isle of Wight PCT Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Lewisham PCT Manchester PCT Medway NHS Foundation Trust

North Bristol NHS Trust Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust Somerset PCT South West London And St George's Mental Health NHS Trust United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust West Sussex PCT Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

CAPTION(S):

WASH Wards in some trusts failed hygiene standards