Chlorine is the only cleaning agent that kills the superbug Clostridium difficile but concerns have been raised that it is not being used effectively enough in hospitals.
A recent study by John Fletcher, a member of a patients’ watchdog, found that 40 per cent of cleaning solutions used at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust did not contain enough chlorine to kill C diff spores.
“My concern is that this is happening in hospitals around the country,” he said. “Chlorine is known to kill C diff but it is not being used to maximum benefit.”
Mr Fletcher worked as a plant pathologist and said controlling plant diseases, had a lot in common with combating human infections.
He said to be effective at killing C diff spores, chlorine has to be used at 1,000 parts per million (ppm).
The tablets used by the NHS in hospitals across Kent, as recommended under Department of Health guidelines, are called Chlor Clean and are already made at that strength.
But if the tablets are not dissolved properly, the solution is too alkaline or if too much dirt comes into contact with the chlorine the strength is affected, Mr Fletcher said.
He took 25 samples from cleaners’ buckets at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the QEQM Hospital in Margate.
Fifteen had chlorine levels between 900 and 1,000 ppm, which is optimum C diff killing strength, but seven had levels between 500 and 750 ppm and two had only 250 ppm.
One sample contained no chlorine.
“I wanted to take more samples but it was actually quite difficult to get them because they only use chlorine where they have a problem with C diff.
“It is worrying that some did not have enough chlorine to kill the C diff spores. Two of the solutions were dirty, which would have affected the strength and some had been used for too long.
“And there is also a possibility that the cleaners did not wait for the tablet to dissolve properly.
“I recommended that they should not be restricting the chlorine to wards where they have an infection but also to high risk areas such as toilets, sluices where they wash bedpans and bathroom areas,” Mr Fletcher, who lives in Canterbury, said.
The trust’s infection control and prevention team accepted that some of the solutions were not as affective at killing the superbug as they should be.
A spokeswoman said: “We take this issue very seriously and this is evident in our extremely low c diff rates. Trust staff work extremely hard at resolving this issue and as a result is delighted to have one of the lowest c diff rates in the country.”
She said all areas that have a potential for C diff, such as medical wards, are cleaned with Chlor clean, including toilets, isolation rooms and commodes twice a day.
Mr Fletcher’s study was part of the trust’s Public Patient Involvement Forum’s final report and the samples were taken during March this year. All forums have now been abolished and replaced with Local Involvement Networks (LINks).
KOS Media has joined forces with NHS trusts across the county to help in the fight against healthcare associated infections.
Through the campaign people are being encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap and water whether they are at home and work or in healthcare centres and hospitals.
POSTED: 11/05/2008 05:00:00