YORK District Hospital is winning the cleaning battle as the latest results show standards have improved from "acceptable" to "excellent".

The latest figures from the Department of Health for spring and autumn (2001), using a traffic light system to grade hospitals, show the hospital has gone from yellow, acceptable, to green, which is excellent.

Danny Morgan, director of facilities for York Health Services NHS Trust, said: "We are delighted by the improvement shown and we are glad that the efforts to improve have been recognised in the inspection results.

"The inspections helps us identify areas for further improvements. We have incorporated them into our hospital patient environment planning for the future and we will continue to strive for consistent higher standards."

Scarborough General Hospital and Harrogate District Hospital remained excellent in the scoring tables.

Selby War Memorial Hospital has remained acceptable after it dragged itself off the list of the dirtiest hospitals when it scored red this time last year.

Bootham Park in York, and Malton Community Hospital remained yellow, acceptable.

The issue of standards was highlighted in the Evening Press earlier this year after we received a number of complaints from members of the public about the standard of cleanliness in the hospital.

We highlighed the case of Joan Hargreaves whose daughter, Sheridan Stead, of Elvington, claimed that cleaning and nursing problems at the hospital contributed to her mother's death there from pneumonia and septicaemia, following an operation to remove a tumour.

Since then the trust has began a new three-year cleaning contract with Initial Hospital Services Ltd with a pledge by the chief executive to "enrich" the standards and impose stricter monitoring.

The latest round of spot-check inspections has shown a huge improvement in hospital cleanliness, with no hospitals in England registering a 'red light' grade.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said: "The cleaning campaign in England's hospitals is working.

"In April I announced national standards for hospital cleaning and that by the autumn no hospital would have poor standards of cleanliness. We have got there thanks to cleaners, porters, caretakers and ward staff, led by matrons."

Updated: 11:01 Friday, November 02, 2001