RCN urges senior managers to take note of the lessons learnt at Maidstone
Published: 12 January 2009
Responding to the Healthcare Commission report on infection control at Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
“It’s encouraging to see that Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells has made such progress in driving down infection rates. After the serious outbreak of C.difficile in 2007, it was so important to get managers in place who understood that you can’t cut corners when it comes to infection prevention.
“The Commission rightly points out that recruiting enough nurses in the first place and taking note of patient feedback are critical if you’re going to reduce the threat of infection and deliver quality care.
“The report also makes it clear that having specialist nurse teams working on infection prevention is so important. All senior managers should know that frontline staff are in a much better position to drive down infection rates with the support of a specialist nursing team behind them. It’s vital that senior managers across the country sit up and take note of the lessons learnt from the tragedy of Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells, ensuring that something like this never happens again.”
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Notes for Editors
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Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.