HOSPITAL bosses have secured an extra £300,000 of funding for a range of important infection control projects at both Lister and the QEII hospitals. The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust made a successful bid for the money to the East of England Stra

HOSPITAL bosses have secured an extra £300,000 of funding for a range of important infection control projects at both Lister and the QEII hospitals.

The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust made a successful bid for the money to the East of England Strategic Health Authority in January.

The Department of Health had set aside a £50m Capital Challenge Fund at the end of 2006 to be used specifically to help the NHS combat the threat posed by health-care associated infections.

Each Trust could apply for up to £300,000 of capital funds.

The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust will use the money for improvement works, including:

l Conversion of nine existing en suite bathrooms to have walk-in showers and new toilet and sinks.

l Creation of new en suite facilities, with walk-in showers, in nine existing single rooms.

l Installation of new dishwashers and replacement of existing sinks and taps in 10 ward kitchens.

l Installation of new sensor tap sets and replacement of existing sinks in 15 ward utility rooms.

l Installation of new clinical hand washing facilities, with sensor taps, in 27 clinical areas.

Noel Scanlon, the Trust's acting director of infection control and director of nursing, said: "One of the biggest challenges a Trust likes ours faces is that our ward facilities are often quite outdated, with inadequate washing and toilet facilities.

"This new funding allows us to upgrade those in most need of replacement or refurbishment, which will help enormously in our efforts to combat the threat posed to patients' health by infections.

"The introduction of taps operated by sensors means we improve the speed, compliance and effectiveness of hand washing which remains the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection.

"Also having more single rooms with en suite facilities will help our staff to isolate those relatively few patients who already have an infection more effectively.

"All the work, which will be completed by April this year, represents probably one of the single most important infection control projects that this Trust has undertaken for some time.

"Without the additional funding made available through the Department of Health, we would continue to have washing and toilet facilities on many of our wards that simply were not up to the job.