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"The cleaners and porters - nothing was a trouble to them and I thought they kept the hospital so very clean." Mr NC

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Clean your hands. It's your duty.

Help us keep our hospitals clean

Patient and visitor information

Patient and visitor information

Keeping our hospitals clean

How we manage Infection Prevention and Control

Here at the Newcastle Hospitals we are working hard to reduce avoidable infections and to provide a clean and safe environment for patients, their relatives and our staff.

How we manage Infection Prevention and Control

Here at the Newcastle Hospitals we are working hard to reduce avoidable infections and to provide a clean and safe environment for patients, their relatives and our staff.

Hand Cleansing

There is alcohol based hand gel at the entrance of most adult wards and by each bed (for safety reasons in some areas staff wear individual tottles of gel). This is for the use of all staff, patients and visitors. Alcohol hand rub is used to supplement regular handwashing.

Cleaning

You can expect your hospital environment to be kept clean and tidy. We employ trained staff to clean both our ward areas and other areas of the hospital every day. If you have any issues about infection prevention and control, please speak to the Sister / Charge Nurse or Matron, who can quickly respond to issues that arise, whether these be for a patient on a ward, or wider issues such as the fabric of the hospital's buildings.

Well-trained Staff

To keep up with the latest guidelines for protecting patients, our staff are constantly being reminded of effective ways of preventing infection including how to care for difficult wounds and IV lines
.

Aprons and Gloves

Staff should be using aprons and gloves as 'personal protection' when they are changing dressings or giving patient care - this protects both the patient and the member of staff.

Reduced risk by segregating patients

In some circumstances patients may be nursed in single rooms (side rooms) or smaller (cohort) bays to prevent the spread of an infection.

Antibiotics and treatment

We use antibiotics according to well-established guidelines - sometimes to prevent infection (before and after some operations) and sometimes to treat a known infection. We want to use the right ones at the right time to ensure they help you when you need them. Ask your healthcare staff for further information.

Additional deep cleaning of wards

When we consider it might help prevent infection, we will close down areas of wards for enhanced cleaning. We apologise for any disruption this might cause.

Complying with National Guidelines and how we compare nationally

We work hard to meet national guidelines set by the Healthcare Commission. We were recently found to be excellent in both categories – the quality of our services, and how we use our resources - of the annual health check ratings. This puts us up in the top 10% of NHS Trusts nationally. We have listened carefully to the Healthcare Commission’s advice and are working hard to make sure that next year we can be even better.

Find out more about what the Healthcare Commission say about us here.

What can you do to prevent Healthcare Acquired Infections?

Providing high-quality services in a safe and clean environment is a number one priority for Newcastle - this includes helping everyone understand what we can do together to fight infection in hospitals and protect your health.

Find out more about Healthcare Acquired Infections here.

Ten Top Tips to help us prevent infections

1.   Use the alcohol based hand gel or wash hands on entry to and exit from ward
2.   Wash hands or use hand gel before and after any patient contact
3.   Contact a nurse if another patient needs assistance
4.   Do not sit/lie on other patients' beds or your relative's bed
5.   Don’t share patient toiletries or towels
6.   Do not touch any wounds or medical equipment
7.   Don’t visit if you are suffering from an infection
8.   Don’t visit in work clothing, e.g. healthcare or builder
9.   Don't bring food in that requires reheating
10. Ward toilets should only be used by patients