Southport at forefront of fight against healthcare bugs

SOUTHPORT and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is taking a lead in the fight against healthcare associated bugs by trialling a new glass coating on surfaces including bed tables, commodes, floors, sinks and taps.  Southport & Formby District General Hospital is amongst a handful of sites through the country that have been chosen to run evaluations of new products with the potential to reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).  The coating, which is made of liquid glass and is therefore invisible to the naked eye, originates in Germany where it is used to protect surfaces in food production, hotels and healthcare areas. It makes surfaces easy to clean using water alone by making surfaces effectively 'non-stick'.  The results will be analysed by infection control experts and, if the equipment is judged to be effective, it could be adopted on a permanent basis - not only in Southport and Ormskirk but in other areas of the country.  Martin Kiernan, who is leading the evaluations at the Southport & Ormskirk NHS Trust, said:- "Reducing healthcare associated infections is one of the top priorities for the NHS and it is important to ensure that no stone remains unturned in the fight against infection.  Whilst the fundamentals of preventing cross-infection and reducing environmental contamination are the same as they have always been, new products and technologies can play a valuable part in helping to prevent infection. I look forward to seeing the results of the evaluation."  The evaluation is part of the Smart Solutions for HCAI programme, a national programme which aims to identify new products and technologies to combat infections and make them available to the NHS without unnecessary delay.  Last year it invited businesses and inventors to come up with new product ideas. The equipment, from Nanopool of Germany, was one of nine winners from a total of over 250 entries. All of the winning products are now undergoing evaluations at different locations.  Bryan Griffiths, project director for Smart Solutions for HCAI, said:- "The evaluation process is of critical importance as we need to be sure the products are effective. We chose Southport & Ormskirk for this particular evaluation due to the willingness of the infection prevention and control team, nurses working in clinical areas and facilities staff to accept and test new innovations that may make a difference for patients. We would like to thank the trust for helping us to do this."

Year in jail for housing benefit cheat

A MAN who falsely claimed almost £50,000 in housing benefit from Liverpool City Council has been jailed for a year.

Richard Davies – formerly Richard Gerrard - of Withnell Road in Broadgreen, claimed and received housing benefit over 13 years from 1993 to 2006, claiming he was the tenant of the property. In reality, he was the owner, having bought it in 1992.

Suspicions were aroused when Gerrard changed his surname to Davies by deed poll in 2006, and a benefits assessment officer noticed that it was the same as the supposed landlord of the property.  Further investigations by Liverpool Direct Limited, which runs the city council’s benefits service, showed that they shared the same date of birth and national insurance number.

Today, in a prosecution brought by the city council, he was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court for housing benefit fraud totalling £48,000.  He also admitted producing a number of false documents including benefit application forms and a rent book.

The city council’s executive member for finance, Councillor Flo Clucas, said:- “This case sends out a strong message that there are serious consequences when people falsely claim benefits.  We will not hesitate to investigate and take action against people where we believe they have lied and cheated. They are stealing money from honest taxpayers and those who are making genuine claims.  If people think they may be mistakenly receiving money they aren’t entitled to, they should get in touch with us to discuss it as soon as possible.  We have a benefits maximisation team who are here to assist, and there is no reason for those who are really in need to miss out.”

Jailing Davies for 12 months, Judge Bryn Holloway said the onus is on people to make genuine claims because the local authority doesn’t have the resources to check that every single claim is right.  Over the last year the council has carried out around 800 investigations into fraud and brought over 70 successful prosecutions.