Nov 27 2007
The debate in the UK over the spread of so-called superbugs such as MRSA has taken a nasty turn with the national union for ambulance staff saying dirty ambulances are the culprits.
Unison says an investigation it carried out revealed that ambulance trusts followed very varied cleaning practices; while some were routinely cleaned by onsite staff others had no dedicated cleaning staff and simply received a "quick mop-out".
The union claims dirty ambulances are responsible for the spread of MRSA and other infectious bacteria and has called for extra funding for cleaning along with mandatory rules rather than the current national guidance.
Unison says ambulance crews believe that targets, time and money were all to blame for the differing cleaning practices.
Some crews in the North West reported that they had no dedicated cleaning staff or cleaning time and that the only precaution they took was to mop out ambulances that had carried patients known to be infected with diseases such as Clostridium difficile.
According to Sam Oestreicher, Unison's national officer for ambulance staff, ambulances should be part of the patient care package and no one should have to travel or work in a dirty ambulance.
Oestreicher says ambulance cleanliness is a key factor in the battle against healthcare-related infections and the standards laid down should be strictly applied and monitored.
The Health Minister, Ben Bradshaw says that there is no evidence to suggest that ambulances were a major source of infection helping to spread potentially deadly infections such as MRSA.
He says the government took infection control seriously in all environments.
Experts too however are warning that there had been little progress since the issue was first raised two years ago.
Unison is calling for "urgent action" and the removal of dirty ambulances from service for cleaning.
The Unison inquiry found the London Ambulance Service to be a leader in the field with on-site staff routinely cleaning the fleet and vehicles regularly restocked with fresh kit, which meant crews were not wasting time performing such tasks.
But this was not the case in many other areas.