Annual Report 2010 - St. James's Hospital

Clinical Support Services I General Support Services
• The introduction of 24 hour cleaning and night cleaning in
Theatre, resulting in optimum use of resources out of hours
and increased support for bed management
• Greater fl exibilities and mobility of hygiene services staff
coupled with a reduction in the delineation of duties,
resulting in increased effi ciency of resources and clarity in
terms of roles and responsibilities
• The development and roll-out of a robust ‘Hygiene
Assessment Tool’ which incorporates hygiene, infection
prevention and control and health and safety criteria and
the development of a reporting template for issue to all
areas post assessment, the report details both positive and
negative fi ndings and includes an action plan
• Upgrading and refurbishment of equipment and facilities,
resulting in improved internal and external environment
• Development and issue of quarterly reports regarding
‘hygiene complaints’ and ‘hygiene related risk occurrences’
‘Hygiene Scores’/‘Hygiene Performance
Indicators’ 2010
A robust hygiene assessment process is in place,
departmental, local and executive management assessments
are ongoing. Average scores in 2010 were as follows:
• Environment 90%
• Equipment 87%
• Ward Kitchens 92%
• Waste Management & Sharps 95%
• Linen & Laundry 95%
• Hand Hygiene Facilities 90%
Note: ≥86% required
Chaplaincy Department
The Chaplaincy Department provides a 24 hour service to the
hospital. The team comprises Ordained and Religious along
with Church of Ireland Chaplains. In addition the Department
has over 30 volunteers who serve as Ministers of Eucharist
and assist in bringing communion to patients on a daily basis.
In 2010 the chaplains attended over 1000 deaths and made
200 pre-operation visits per week to patients who had
requested a visit. Added to these are the informal visits made
on wards by all Chaplains.
A Special Mass of Remembrance was held in November for
deceased members of Staff, their families and friends which
allows bereaved Staff and their families and friends
an opportunity to come together and remember their loved
ones in a ‘Candle Ceremony of Remembrance’.
Concourse
The reception desk on Main Concourse is the initial interface
for patients, visitors and staff entering the main hospital, and
the team aspires to project an image that is effi cient and
refl ective of a professional healthcare facility.
The primary function of Main Concourse is to ensure that
access to the desired location in the main hospital is facilitated
by means of effective signage and/or assistance from the
team, and to provide commercial and catering facilities for
patients, visitors and staff in an appropriate setting.
Catering Department
The Catering Department provides a varied menu for patients,
offering a range of dishes including those which are suitable
for patients on modifi ed diets. It prepares and distributes
almost one million patient meals a year.
The refurbishment programme for the ward pantries continued
throughout 2010 with the upgrading of another four ward
pantries and an upgrading of the central production unit,
where improvements included the installation of a blast
chiller and new fl ooring in the cold rooms, in addition a new
disposal facility was constructed in the Central Production
Unit to ensure compliance with Dublin City Council’s waste
management programme.
The exterior areas of the staff restaurant surrounding the new
extension were upgraded and now compliment the building.
A new computerised patient menu ordering system was
piloted on 4 wards in 2010 and was deemed successful in
terms of effi cient data capture and reduction in waste, a full
roll out of this initiative is planned for 2011.
Comprehensive monitoring of the catering system, based on
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles,
was continuously enforced so that operational procedures
where systematically checked as a matter of routine.
Security
The security of patients, visitors and staff continued to be
the key focus for Security Department in 2010. Continued
investment in Security has enabled a modern and effective
Control Room with security personnel having visibility on
CCTV cameras, access control, intruder detection, panic
alarms, fi re alarms etc.
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