A COMPLAINT about poor cleaning at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by a patient who was later found to have the MRSA superbug has been upheld after health chiefs failed to produce the relevant records.
The patient, referred to only as Mr C, claimed the single room he occupied for two days in August 2006 had not been adequately cleaned.
He was readmitted a fortnight later and a swab showed he had MRSA.
Lothian's health board said it believed t
he room had been cleaned in line with the contract, but apologised that the service did not meet Mr C's expectations.
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Professor Alice Brown investigated his complaint, but the health board could not find completed worksheets covering Mr C's stays in the hospital.
ProfBrown concluded that since the records had been mislaid it was not possible to determine how well Mr C's room had been cleaned.
But she upheld the complaint in so far as the board could not provide evidence on the issue.
She said: "Infection control and cleanliness are of vital importance in any hospital and I consider that appropriate records of the work carried out in this area should be maintained.
"It is not acceptable that the records relating to Mr C's stay have been mislaid."
She recommended the board should remind the cleaning contractor of the importance of good record-keeping and ensure that it obtains all available evidence when investigating a complaint.
The full article contains 245 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
