Taps in abattoirs better than in hospitals claims expert

Published on Monday 28 December 2009 21:18

SCOTLAND'S top bacteriologist has warned that hand-washing in hospitals could actually spread infection – because of old fashioned taps.

Professor Hugh Pennington said hospital taps were covered with dangerous germs and washing may end up spreading infection rather than preventing it. He said money needed to be spent urgently to replace hand taps with automatically-operated ones.

He said it was ironic that slaughterhouses had infra-red operated automatic taps but most hospitals did not.

"The technology has been around for a long time but it would make a significant difference to controlling infections in hospitals," said Professor Pennington.

"They do this in airports – even in slaughterhouses – but for some reason not in enough hospitals. It seems crazy.

"It is important that hands do not get re-contaminated. But using hand taps – which have been touched by hundreds of people – you may end up catching more bugs than before you washed your hands. It strikes me that hospitals are taking a devil of a time over this. Of course it would cost money but it would be worth it."

The Scottish Government is already spending 54 million over three years on initiatives to tackle infections.

But Aberdeen-based Professor Pennington, a world-renowned expert in microbiology, believes each of Scotland's 14 health boards need millions of pounds to "crack" infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Guidance is already issued to health boards about sanitary facilities, including taps. This specifies that sensor-controlled taps are preferable to lever-action taps.

"When hospitals are being built or refurbished, we would expect them to include the latest measures to tackle healthcare-associated infections which may include sensor controlled taps."