National standards for cleaning in NHS Wales
These standards update the National Standards of Cleanliness first published by the Welsh Assembly Government in July 2003. They provide a comparative framework within which hospitals and Local Health Boards (LHBs) in Wales can set out details for providing cleaning services and assessing
environmental cleanliness.
The National Standards of Cleanliness have been reviewed and revisited to:
- Reflect the introduction of the Healthcare Standards for Wales in 2005, and the move from external assessment of the Welsh Risk Management Standard 40 by the Welsh Risk Pool, to internal assessment against the Healthcare Standards for Wales (specifically Standard 5) from 2007/08 onwards.
- Ensure the standards take account of changes occurring since the original Standards were published, specifically, but not restricted to The Empowering Ward Sisters Ministerial Task and Finish Group final report, Free to Lead, Free to Care published in June 2008.
- Ensure the audit methodology contained within these Standards incorporates the methodology and functionality of the All-Wales Monitoring Tool. This includes a change in the generic elements that are audited against.
- Include the revised generic elements against which all cleaning services must be audited, suggested minimum cleaning frequencies and a specimen cleaning responsibility framework.
- Reflect infection control best practice guidance contained in ‘Healthcare Associated Infections – A Strategy for Hospitals in Wales’ and ‘Healthcare Associated Infections- A Community Strategy for Wales’.
These Standards are not a prescriptive cleaning manual: rather they provide a framework to support local decision making based on the identification and assessment of risks whilst maintaining compliance to the outcomes required by these Standards.
Ultimately each LHB is accountable for the effectiveness of the cleaning services, and these Standards do not provide instruction as to how services should be provided as these matters are for local determination. Rather, they provide clear advice and guidance on: what is required; how LHBs can demonstrate the way(s) in which cleaning services will meet these requirements; and how to assess performance.
These Standards should be applied regardless of the manner in which cleaning services are provided. Compliance with the specifications, and the monitoring and auditing process should be written into contracts with cleaning service providers.