R66 Response Accepted

Healthcare environment maintenance

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that the healthcare environment does not compromise effective IPC, and that poor maintenance practices are not tolerated.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Scottish Government published its response to the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report on 18 June 2015, accepting all 75 recommendations and establishing an Implementation Group chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer (Scottish Government Response, June 2015).
- The Scottish Government's response highlighted the revised NHSScotland National Cleaning Services Specification and its monitoring framework, enabling NHS boards to assess and improve cleaning standards.
- The Health and Social Care Standards (published June 2017) include Standard 5: 'I experience a high quality environment,' which encompasses building maintenance, cleanliness, and fitness for purpose (Health and Social Care Standards (https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-social-care-standards-support-life/)).
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspects the healthcare environment including maintenance and cleanliness as part of its HAI inspection programme.
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 3.1 of the Scottish Government's response highlights the revised NHSScotland National Cleaning Services Specification and its monitoring framework, which enables NHS boards to assess and improve the physical healthcare environment. Significant investment has been committed to NHS estates, assets, facilities, and equipment, including over £400 million between 2014 and 2016. This investment, alongside efforts to reduce backlog maintenance, contributes to providing a clean and safe environment and addressing poor maintenance practices.

Read Full Response
Published Evidence

Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Good Progress
01 May 2022
Healthcare Improvement Scotland Other

HIS IPC Standards (2022) Standard 8 (Built Environment) requires healthcare environments to support effective IPC. Standard 7 (Equipment Cleaning) addresses maintenance standards. HEI inspections assess compliance.

View detailed findings

National cleaning services specification published by NSS (SHFN 01-02) provides detailed standards for healthcare environment maintenance.

HIS IPC Standards - Standards 7 and 8, May 2022 View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS Health Boards (Scotland) Primary
Themes & Tags
Care home infection control Care home maintenance delays Environment Estates
Recommendation age 11.5 yrs
Last formal update 4000 days ago