The Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) has blamed the "absence of clear direct management of hygiene" for poor results in a national hygiene audit published yesterday.
The Health Information and Quality Authority survey found nearly a fifth of public hospitals in Ireland are failing to meet basic hygiene standards and pose an "immediate and significant threat" to the health of patients,.
INO General Secretary Liam Doran
The first independent National Hygiene Services Quality Review found none of the State's 51 public hospitals had "very good" hygiene standards.
In a statement released this morning, the INO said the findings confirmed the "experience of patients and front line staff in relation to the absence of clear direct management of hygiene in public hospitals in recent years."
The INO acknowledged the responsibility of staff, including nurses and midwives, to ensure all basic hygiene safeguards are adhered to but added: "The INO views the report's findings, in relation to the absence of corporate governance as a major deficit at this time, as being further confirmation that clinicians, such as nurses, in management are being marginalised, disempowered and ignored as a direct result of the health reform process."
The INO said it supports the key recommendations in the HIQA report.
INO General Secretary Liam Doran said: "This first national review, by the new independent authority HIQA, will hopefully be the first of a series of surveys which critically analyse the performance of the health care system.
"The INO calls for the full acceptance of the review's recommendations and the implementation of the actions, detailed by the INO, immediately."