Hospital bathrooms get dirtier in capital

Bathrooms at London hospitals have become dirtier over the past year, a survey reveals.

Despite government claims to the contrary, fewer patients are finding toilets and bathrooms as clean as they did a year ago. Hospitals in and around the capital score especially low in the Healthcare Commission's patient survey.

Kingston Hospital was the worst, with 38 per cent of patients describing the washing facilities as "not very" or "not at all" clean.

Next was Ealing Hospital with 30 per cent dissatisfied, and King's College Hospital with 27 per cent.

Some bugs that cause stomach infections, such as the Norwalk virus, which leads to vomiting and diarrhoea, breed in wet bathrooms. Contaminated food and water or cleaners without gloves can spread the virus.

Other bugs, such as MRSA, are also spread by failure to wash hands. Patients such as the elderly are especially at risk as they have weakened-immune systems, Simon Williams of the Patients' Association called for new hygiene standards across the NHS.

The NHS Patient Survey 2004 questioned more than 86,000 people. Kingston Hospital said its standards had improved since the survey.