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Foreword by the Secretary of State

Hard work and massive extra investment have brought enormous improvements in the NHS. There are thousands more doctors and nurses. More patients are being treated than ever before and they are being treated faster. We have made big strides forward but there is more to do.

Cleanliness remains a major patient concern and MRSA is a growing problem. The NHS is open about this. A great deal of work is already underway and some progress is being made.  But there is much further to go.

A clean environment provides the right setting for good patient care practice and good infection control. It is important for efficient and effective healthcare.

 Patients rightly expect hospitals to be clean. Just like a clean hotel, a clean hospital gives a good first impression and can make a difference to how patients feel about the NHS and how they feel they have been treated. It is a physical manifestation of the health of the NHS. The message it gives spreads far beyond infection to say to patients, 'You are in safe hands'.

There are some excellent examples of good cleanliness and infection control in the NHS. We now need a new campaign - led by patients and nurses and involving all NHS staff to bring everywhere up to the level of the best.

Our new approach is to empower patients with more knowledge and encourage them to demand the highest standards of hygiene.  It is to give matrons and nurses at ward level the practical advice and power to ensure high standards are maintained. It puts cleanliness and the control of infection at the heart of inspection regimes and it is to learn from the best at home and abroad to tackle the increasing problem of infection.

In doing this we need to address the problems of today and ensure that we have systems that deal with the challenges of tomorrow.

JOHN REID

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