Wigan trusts spend £4m on infection control
Deep cleaning costs mount up after Norovirus outbreak
More than £4m was spent last year on infection control measures at hospitals in Wigan, new figures show.
Accounts reveal that in 2010/11, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) spend £3,334,001 on cleaning services, while NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan primary care trust spent £816,156.
The money was invested in technologies and services aimed at reducing the risk of healthcare associated infections such as MRSA and C.difficile . The amount spent has risen by around £500,000 since 2008/09.
A spokesman for WWL said: “We have reviewed cleaning procedures and where cleaning takes place in office accommodation we have reduced this to transfer the staffing element to our clinical areas, improving the National Cleaning Standards scoring to exceed 95% for our wards.”
A crackdown was announced after an outbreak of Norovirus over the past few months, with wards deep cleaned with steam and hypochlorite technologies.
The spokesman said the trust was looking at ways to reduce the bill, adding: “Cleaning products have been sourced through alternative suppliers at cost-effective rates ensuring best value for money, and we are currently looking to enter into alliances with external organisations to reduce this further.”
