23 September 2007
Gordon Brown has ordered a deep clean of hospitals to tackle the spread of infections such as the MRSA "superbug".
Hospitals will be returned to the state of cleanliness they were in at the time of their opening, the PM said in an article in the News of the World.
Mr Brown added that day-to-day cleaning was insufficient to solve all health problems.
He said:
"We know that over time, ingrained cleanliness problems build up, especially in hard-to-reach places like ceilings and ventilation ducts, which cannot be dealt with by day-to-day cleaning.
"So over the next year, for the first time, every hospital will receive a deep clean designed to return our hospitals to the state they were in when they were built brand new".
Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Brown also promised a reduction in waiting times for cervical screening from six weeks to two and to extend the age range for routine screening from 47 to 73.
Some NHS trusts are already carrying out stricter cleaning regimes.
- Department of Health healthcare associated infections pages (new window)
- News of the World (new window)
Image copyright: Reuters
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