BSI has revised the PAS 5748 ‘Specification for the planning, application and measurement of cleanliness services in hospitals’.
Sponsored by the Department of Health, the specification was first published in 2011 as a means of helping acute, community, and mental health hospitals in England demonstrate that plans were in place to keep their premises clean and safe for patients.
BSI explained: “The specification provides a framework for a risk-based cleaning system, and takes a continuous improvement approach to hygiene.”
Among areas covered are:
- Governance of a cleanliness service.
- Assessment of the risk of a lack of cleanliness (for infection and damage to patient, public, or staff confidence).
- Providing cleaning tasks.
- Measuring cleanliness on the basis of visual inspection.
- Implementing corrective action.
- Conducting performance analysis, and implementing improvement actions.
Anne Hayes, head of Market Development for Governance & Risk at BSI, said: “This specification can support care providers in giving patients confidence that the hospital environment is clean. The current revision remains relevant to today’s healthcare environment, and PAS 5748 is commended to anybody responsible for providing a clean, safe environment for patient care.”
PAS 5748 is free to download for NHS staff in England at: http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas-5748
