A clean bill of health for Galloway Hospital

An unannounced inspection was carried out last November from Wednesday 21 to Thursday 22.

Healthcare Impreovment Scotland has previously inspected Galloway Community Hospital in March 2017.

That inspection resulted in five requirements and one recommendation.

Inspections of the Dalrymple ward (rehabilitation, palliative care and end of life), emergency department, Garrick ward (acute medical admission and stroke ), and the renal unit was carried out.

They found a good standard of environmental cleaning in all areas inspected, and good staff compliance with mandatory infection prevention and control training was present.

However, it added NHS Dumfries and Galloway must ensure equipment was clean and well maintained.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway welcomed the “very positive report” on the hospital.

A spokesman said: “We welcome this very positive report by HEI on the safety and cleanliness of Galloway Community Hospital in Stranraer.

“The report recognises the range of work which is carried out on a constant basis at GCH to maintain the hospital’s safety and cleanliness, the clear promotion of infection control policies and procedures, and the commitment and knowledge of the teams on the ground undertaking this work.

“It recognises the role played by the infection control public involvement group, which sees residents of the region actively involved in auditing the safety and cleanliness of its hospitals. And it notes that patients who were surveyed during the inspection of GCH spoke positively about the work which they witnessed taking place.

“The NHS Board will now action the very limited recommendations emerging from the report as part of its commitment to ensuring the highest possible standards.”