Tameside and Glossop MPs are calling for fundamental change at Tameside Hospital, following the publication of a report by the Care Quality Commission.

The Care Quality Commission visited Tameside Hospital in December to conduct an unannounced ‘prevention and control of infections’ inspection.

And their report, which has just been published, points to “evidence that the trust has breached the regulation to protect patients, workers and others from the risks of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection”.

According to the report, the inspectors found commodes that had not been effectively cleaned. And in the Accident and Emergency resuscitation room they found equipment in dusty plastic trays, which had been removed from sterile packaging.

They also found an unused bath, shower and sink that had not been flushed through on a routine basis, in contravention of the hospital’s own Legionella policy

The report comes just weeks after the publication of the Dr Foster Hospital Guide 2009, which highlighted the relatively high mortality rates at Tameside Hospital.

And now Tameside MPs – James Purnell, David Heyes and Andrew Gwynne and High Peak's Tom Levitt – are calling for urgent and fundamental changes in the running of the hospital.

A statement issued by the four MPs says: “To have unclean commodes on hospital wards and emergency equipment sitting in dusty trays is clearly not acceptable.

“Patients should be able to expect the highest possible standards of care and cleanliness from their local hospital.

“And they should certainly not to be put in a position where their health is put at greater risk by equipment that is not properly sterile or unsanitary.

“Serious questions have already been raised about the declining confidence in the hospital, in the wake of the high standardised mortality ratios highlighted by the Dr Foster Guide.

“And following the publication of this inspection report by the Care Quality Commission we believe it is time to say, ‘enough is enough’.

“We have been reluctant to call for fundamental changes in the running of the hospital. But we now believe it is a necessary first step if the hospital is to get the fresh start that the people of Tameside and Glossop deserve.”