A HEALTH trust which runs services in Dewsbury has been given a clean bill of health.

The Healthcare Commission has found The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is meeting its requirements to prevent and manage infections.

Assessment managers from the Commission made a surprise visit to the trust in July.

The visit is part of the biggest programme of inspections relating to healthcare-associated infection carried out by the Healthcare Commission.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is one of 120 trusts to be inspected over the next year to check compliance with the Government’s hygiene code, which came into force in October 2006.

The code outlines 11 compulsory duties to prevent and manage healthcare-associated infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust was chosen for inspection, based on rates of infection and other key information on infection brought together for the first time by the Commission, including surveys of patients.

During their visit to the trust, assessment managers from the Commission concentrated on three key duties of the code, which look at management systems to prevent and control infection, how trusts assess and control risks of infection and the provision of isolation facilities.

They found that the trust was able to show that good infection control was an integral part of the way it operated.

The trust is currently implementing a computerised system that will help with infection control. Also, infection prevention and control training is mandatory for all staff.

No recommendations for change have been made.

Jo Dent, the Healthcare Commission’s Head of North Region, said: “I’m pleased that The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has the necessary systems in place to help protect patients and the public, and indeed staff, from healthcare associated infection. The trust needs to ensure that those systems continue to work effectively.

“I encourage them to maintain a strong focus on infection control and to continue making improvements. We must not let our guard down in our fight against superbugs like MRSA and Clostridium difficile.”