What Are the Care Quality Commission Regulations for Hospital Cleaning?

Updated on December 5th 2022

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their role involves monitoring, inspecting and regulating services in both the health and social care industries. Ratings are then released which help the public decide which organisation they trust the most to use. These ratings are addressed as one of the following:

• Outstanding quality
• Good quality
• Requires improvement
• Inadequate

In this article, we’ll look at the key CQC fundamental standards which must be enforced to ensure the health and safety of service users.

The CQC Regulations: Support Achieves Good Outcomes

Medical practices in the UK must adhere to strict government legislation under the Health and Social Care Act 2022. To ensure people who use health and social care services receive safe, effective and high quality care, all hospitals and surgeries are monitored by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), an independent regulator of health and social care. The CQC monitor, inspect and rate the standards of health care services, and advise on improvements needed to ensure legislations are being met.

The CQC Regulations cover premises and equipment and state that both must be kept clean in line with current legislations. This means appropriate cleaning methods and agents should be used to keep the premises visibly clean and odour free. Practices should set up an appropriate cleaning schedule which should be monitored frequently. If not up to standard, action must be taken immediately to ensures the highest possible hygiene standards are met.

Who needs to abide by the CQC Regulations?

The CQC regulate all services that provide health and social care including:

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Hospices
• Doctors
• Children’s services
• Ambulances
• Care homes
• Dentists
• Mental health services

All of these practices must abide by the CQC Regulations which ensure the correct government Code of Practice is followed.  The CQC have the power to take action if required to make sure that appropriate cleaning methods are enforced at any of the health and social care facilities listed above.

Let’s have a look at the top 5 things to consider when aiming for an outstanding rating after CQC inspections.

Is it safe?

This refers to being protected from avoidable harm and other incidents, taking into consideration both staff and patient safety. Large emphasis is placed on proper staff, who will avoid improper treatment, where staff must be qualified and have all the necessary equipment to correctly handle patient care. Regular review meetings are essential for applying robust monitoring of cleanliness and control to ensure these high standards are met.

Is it effective?

Care should be delivered in line with legislation and evidence based guidance. Undertaking various audits and meetings throughout to ensure patient outcomes are the best they can possibly be is essential. This can involve looking at improvements in pathways, incorporating better teamwork and finding more efficient ways to work, in order to deliver more effective care.

Is it caring?

Staff should involve and treat patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. The organisation should have an open and fair culture, so that no one is made to feel left out or uncared for.

Is it responsive?

Does the organisation and its services meet the service users needs? This takes into consideration person centred care, where patients should receive customised treatment based on their specific symptoms to help them best recover. Individual’s views should be heard and discussed, leading to improved patient care throughout their time with a health organisation.

Is it well-led?

Strong leadership should be provided to maintain quality and ensure mutual support amongst staff members, so they are able to deliver person centred care. Regular practice meetings and internal communication should be employed, as well as evidence shown of low staff turnover. Regular feedback and appraisals should also be given to staff members throughout their time working.

Now that we’ve looked at the CQC regulations, let’s look at why hospital cleanliness is so important.

The importance of hospital cleanliness

Cleanliness and hygiene is important in any public place, but in hospitals and medical practices it is critical due to the fact that the spread of germs can endanger individuals who are already at risk. Nosocomial infection is the name given to hospital-acquired infections which are unrelated to the original illness being treated. According to the Department of Health, these healthcare-associated infections cost the health service around £2.7 billion a year.

Therefore, keeping cleaning standards at the highest level is not only important to adhere to legislation, but will also help save health care services time and money. Hospital cleaning is a crucial part of overall health and safety, as it’s a major contributor to controlling the spread of infections.

Providing a clean hospital environment

CQC Regulations are understandably strict, so you will probably need to take your staff away from their duties in order to train them properly. To avoid this, you could use a professional cleaning company with experience in cleaning medical practices who will understand what needs to be done to clean to high standards.

Jani-King provide healthcare cleaning services for medical practices. Our commercial cleaning teams will be able to give you the peace of mind that your facility is being cleaned to a high standard with hygiene in mind to ensure the safety of patients, visitors and staff.

With tight public health care service budgets, we understand that you need to meet the highest hygiene standards in the most cost-efficient way. That’s why we provide tailor-made cleaning services and charge by clean, not by hour. This means we’ll provide the best results using the most efficient cleaning methods for your premises.

Here are a few tips to keep germs at bay:

• Make sure staff practice good overall hygiene and especially good hand hygiene
• Ensure any toys left out for children to play with are regularly sanitised
• Provide tissues
• Remove magazines from waiting areas as they can spread germs
• Make sure ventilations are cleaned regularly
• Ensure the cleaning company are up-to-date with medical standards
• Areas such as door knobs and light switches are touched frequently and should therefore be cleaned regularly

Contact Jani King for outstanding medical premises

With over 50 years’ experience in commercial cleaning, Jani King are one of the most renowned professional cleaning companies and can expertly take care of all of your hospital cleaning and surgery cleaning services. Our franchise model means that you receive the dedicated service of a small company combined with the resources, knowledge and high standards of a large company for outstanding, efficient results.

If you want to find out more about our healthcare cleaning services, then contact our expert team who will be happy to help you.