Shining review for community hospital staff

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) visited the community hospitals in Hawick and Kelso, as well as Hay Lodge in Peebles and the Knoll in Duns and inspectors found good compliance with infection control training and precautions”.

The inspectors also noted the good level of knowledge and understanding that staff had regarding the use of personal protective equipment, sharps bins and linen.

The report also recognises the good standard of cleaning and the cleanliness of wards, bathrooms and equipment.

Patient feedback to inspectors also supported this, with one patient saying of the Knoll: “They clean everything. They are never done. They should have golden wings.”

Nicky Berry, director of nursing midwifery and acute services, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff who work incredibly hard on a daily basis to provide high quality care for our patients.

“This report is testament to all the hard work and effort that they put in.”

However, the report also identifies a few areas where improvements could be made, including repairs to the fabric of the buildings including scrapes in walls and damaged doors to allow for more effective cleaning.

The report states: “In all four hospitals inspected, we saw issues with the fabric of the building.

“This included scrapes in walls, damage to the door and door frames resulting in exposed wood. This meant that although surfaces could be cleaned, they could not be effectively cleaned.

“ We noted that all the issues had been reported to the estates team.”

A spokesperson for NHS Borders said that staff “had been reminded of how to report any issues to our estates and facilities colleagues”.