The Hospital Employees Union wants the method by which hospitals are judged as being clean, or not, to be changed over concerns about C-Difficile.
HEU spokesperson Margi Blamey says cleaning audits passed Burnaby hospital with flying colours, despite an outbreak of C-Difficile.
Blamey said “So we really need them to expand what they are auditing they have to look at the number of cleaning staff they have to look at the intensity and frequency of cleans, of the tools be are being provided with to do these cleanings and workload issues.”
When asked if it is because there aren’t enough staff or perhaps not enough funding to deal with infection control, Blamey said “It is probably a combination of both but if health authorities are looking to save money it is well documented that preventing an outbreak is cheaper than containing it and so an investment up front in cleaning staff, intheir training, in their tools, is a wise investment.”
She also slams the contracting out of cleaning services saying it has fractured the whole hospital team.