'Infection risk' in John Radcliffe Hospital theatres

Some operating theatres at a major hospital present "a potential infection control risk" to patients, England's health watchdog has found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said theatres at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford required improvement after an inspection late last year.

The report said "effective cleaning could not be assured" and some areas were in a "poor state of repair".

The hospital said "remedial work" had been done in response to the report.

Oxford University Hospitals Trust chief nurse Sam Foster said the care provider had plans to refresh some of its older theatres.

'Formal refresh'

But the trust delayed a refurbishment programme as it was "balancing the risk of closing our theatres down", which could have affected waiting times.

CQC inspectors, who were at the hospital between 12 November and 7 December, said: "The fabric of the environment was found to be in a poor state of repair and effective cleaning could not be assured, presenting a potential infection control risk."

Some of the issues found by inspectors included damaged doors, and holes in the floors being covered with tape.

The report added that medical equipment like scanning units was stored in corridors "with no evidence the equipment had been cleaned".

Ms Foster said: "In response to the immediate concerns raised, there's been a lot of remedial work done, predominately to floors and cupboards."

The trust plans on starting "a formal refresh" of some older operating theatres in April.