A new hospital cleaning standard designed to provide public assurance that risks associated with hospital cleanliness have been fully assessed, and that nationally agreed procedures are in place to ensure hospitals are clean and safe for patients, will be launched this month at the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals’ National Conference in Telford.
According to the AHCP, British Standard PAS 5748 is the first ever British Standards Institution (BSI)- backed standard for healthcare cleaning. The result of a joint research and development programme by the Department of Health, the BSI, and the AHCP, PAS 5748 will be “a consensusbased specification for planning, measuring, and improving, cleanliness services in NHS hospitals in England”. Although use will not be mandatory, hospitals will be able to use it to provide good practice evidence to the Care Quality Commission that nationally agreed procedures are in place for their premises to prove that they are clean and safe for patients. PAS 5748 will exist alongside the existing national specifications for cleanliness, and is expected to be adopted by most NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers. Copies will be made available to download from the AHCP and BSI websites at: www.ahcp.co.uk and www.bsigroup.com The AHCP 2011 conference takes place at the Telford International Centre from 13-15 June.
