State Hospital is told to clean up its act

A team from the Scottish Government’s Healthcare Environment Inspectorate descended without warning on the hospital in November last year, a follow-up to an earlier visit in May 2013.

While noting there had been improvements in hygiene since that previous visit, inspectors were alarmed to find one room which was officially ‘cleaned’ in readiness for a new patient had pillows that were “heavily stained”, one with blood.

The Hospital, however, insisted this week that the inspection had found its hygiene standards “very good” with the “great majority” of regulations on cleanliness being met .

The Inspectorate said stains were found on bedding and equipment in the hospital which treats 160 mentally-ill patients, either convicted of violent crimes and/or judged to be a potential danger to the public.

For more details, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.