A private hospital’s success in keeping infections at bay has helped its owners win a prestigious national award.
The rigorous hygiene regime at Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham has enabled them to maintain high infection control standards and reduce hospital acquired infections like MRSA and C Difficile.
The hospital and their Consulting Rooms in Abergele are part of Spire Healthcare which clinched the title of Hospital Group of the Year at the 2014 HealthInvestor Awards.
The glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London was hosted by Times newspaper columnist and broadcaster Matthew Parris.
The event is one of the main events for the health sector and is run by trade publication, HealthInvestor.
Sue Jones Director for Spire Yale Hospital says: “We are delighted to be a part of the Hospital Group of the Year.
“We are pleased the judges recognised the investments made in the company and the hard work and dedication everyone at Spire Healthcare gives to providing high quality patient care.
“I hope this highlights to the local people of North and Mid Wales and the borders that they have access to a high quality, award-winning hospital, right on their door-step.”
The 27-bed Spire Yale hospital, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year carries out 2,000 operations a year and employs 115 people.
It is investing £500,000 in new state-of-the-art equipment in 2014.
Spire Yale is upgrading its facilities at a time when they are experiencing growing demand from self-paying patients.
As part of the investment programme, a new £130,000 laminar flow clean-air system has just been installed in one of the hospital’s two main operating theatres.
There are also plans for new lasers for the urology department and a new microscope costing £40,000 for ophthalmic and spinal work in the operating theatre.
Meanwhile, £300,000 has been set aside for new x-ray equipment which should arrive later this year.
At the same time Spire Yale Hospital’s Consulting Rooms on the North Wales Business Park, in Abergele, is doubling in size.
They are taking over the first floor of the building where they have been based on the ground floor since 2009.
The expansion will enable Spire Yale to introduce a number of new services, including non-surgical cosmetic treatments.
Other services will include beauty therapy, acupuncture, sports massage, pilates and yoga and chiropody.
A consultant paediatrician is also keen to offer childhood obesity clinics there.
A spokesman for the panel of 21 independent judges said: “In a very tight category Spire just get the award due to their recent numerous and quantifiable measures underpinning their efforts to ensure service excellence.”
In 2013 there were no cases of MRSA bacteraemia reported across Spire hospitals and according to data from the Department of Health, three Spire hospitals ranked in the top 25 providers for hip replacement, with four also ranking in the top 10 for knee replacement.
Sue Jones added: “We’re very proud of our record on hospital acquired infections. The 2013 outcome statistics for MRSA bacteremia and C Difficile for Spire Yale showed a rate of zero per cent.
“We have a very high level of infection control at the hospital but there is no room for complacency. We are very vigilant because it’s about making sure that everything that needs to be done is done to make sure we maintain our high record.”
