Royal Surrey County Hospital gets new tougher inspection

The Royal Surrey is one of the first hospitals in England to have the more detailed inspection

A team of 45 inspectors is spending two days in Surrey in one of the first of a tough new hospitals inspection regime.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital is among the first six in England to be inspected under the system set up after the Stafford Hospital scandal.

Chief executive Nick Moberly said he was hoping the experts would provide managers with "useful feedback".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) aims to visit all acute hospitals by the end of 2015.

Mr Moberly said he expected the inspectors to look at a "spike" in clostridium difficile infections between June and August.

"It was not unique to us - there were others affected in the region but I am sure they are going to want to look at that to see if they can offer any advice about what we can do differently," he said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) overhauled its inspection procedures following the Stafford Hospital scandal in which there were hundreds more patient deaths than would have been expected between 2005 and 2008.

Gill Harris, leader of the inspection team, said the Royal Surrey was not a hospital considered to be at high risk.

The CQC's report on the Royal Surrey will be published in December.