A MAJOR cleaning blitz is under way in Huddersfield to help combat hospital infections.

Almost £500,000 is being spent at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital to give wards, furniture and equipment a deep clean.

The move is part of a national strategy after the NHS was given extra Government money to clean up its act.

Hospitals across the country were handed money for the blitz – in addition to the daily cleaning work that takes place – to help tackle superbugs.

Dedicated deep-cleaning teams were set-up to carry out the work which includes cleaning ventilation ductwork and replacing bedside curtains and cord light pulls on wards, clinical waste bins and flooring in clinical areas. The teams will also be steam cleaning beds, mattresses and patients’ bedside equipment.

Matron Louise Taylor, who is also part of the Trust’s infection control project team, said: “Deep clean work has been taking place over the last few weeks and we have had some very positive comments from visitors and patients.

“All this is in addition to the regular cleaning that takes place and part of our on-going programme to tackle infection control.

“If we all work together and play our part we can help stamp out the problem of infection in hospitals.”

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the two sites – teamed up with the area’s two primary care trusts to agree the programme which will be completed by the end of March.

Extra cleaning staff have been drafted in from an agency and trained in deep cleaning to carry out the work.

Frank Gibbons, estates director, said: “We have two dedicated teams carrying out the work and we are liaising very closely with clinical staff.

“We will be deep cleaning sections of wards at a time and trying to keep the disruption to an absolute minimum. We ask both patients and visitors to bear with us while we carry out the work.”