HOW WE MANAGE AND MONITOR OUR HOSPITALS TO REDUCE RISKS AND PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY CARE
We are providing the following information about the hospital environment at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) to give you information about the significant work we have carried out and continue to undertake to reduce the environmental risks in our hospitals to help us to provide high quality care.
Our staff are focused, every day, on providing the best possible care and experience for our patients taking steps, wherever possible, to reduce risks.
As well as looking after the health of a core population of around 1.3 million, the QEUH and RHC provide a number of highly specialised regional and national services, caring for some of the most vulnerable patients in Scotland and, indeed, the UK.
As this suggests, hospitals are busy places with many people coming and going throughout any given day and with a huge number of factors affecting the environment in which they provide care.
This information lets you know what we have done and indeed actively do to reduce risks from the environment.
What have we done?
- Wards within the QEUH and RHC are made up of single en-suite rooms, which limits exposure to unnecessary risks.
- We have specialist ventilation and air conditioning systems in our theatres, endoscopy, ITU and HDU, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Paediatric Intensive Care Units controlling air quality
- We also have an agreed specialist ventilation system for our adult Bone Marrow Transplant unit in Ward 4B
- Our systems have a planned maintenance programme every year to ensure that they are working effectively
- We completed an extensive refurbishment of Ward 2A/2B in the RHC, including replacement of the ventilation system – the ward reopened in March 2022, and was officially renamed the Schiehallion unit
- For the domestic water systems, we use a Chlorine Dioxide dosing system throughout the hospitals to ensure the water is suitable for use
- In addition, in high patient risk areas point-of-use tap filters add an extra level of protection
- We have in place clear infection prevention and control processes which allow us to be vigilant and act quickly to minimise harm
What do we monitor to make sure our systems are working?
- Water quality in our hospitals’ domestic supply is closely monitored, and the testing and monitoring we have in place is amongst the most comprehensive in the country
- Our specialist ventilation systems are inspected annually by our teams and independent experts every year to ensure that they continue to provide adequate airflow and air quality to ensure that they work correctly
- For the adult Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, we also carry out monthly air quality sampling to give additional assurances
- We also regularly review patient clinical outcomes including healthcare associated infections and mortality to ensure that they are within expected limits
- Our hospital environment and infection control procedures have also been rigorously scrutinised – both internally and externally – including regular inspections by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. We have taken action wherever these inspections have recommended improvement or found issues.
What does our data tell us?
- All available data, including our testing of water and air quality and our independent testing of our ventilation systems, indicate that our confidence in the hospitals’ environment is well-founded.
- Even though we treat some of the most vulnerable patients in the country, national figures regularly show that our hospitals have better mortality rates than predicted.
- In addition, national surveillance of healthcare associated infections shows that NHSGGC hospitals are in line with or below the national average for all three indicators.
The actions we have put in place mean we remain confident that our hospitals provide an environment where we reduce risks wherever possible to support high quality patient care and experience.
