YORK'S accident and emergency department has been given a clean bill of health after it was examined by cleanliness assessors.

The department at York Hospital, Wigginton Road, was inspected by The Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT), which carries out annual inspections in acute hospitals, at the end of August.

The external assessors looked at 20 criteria, rated from one (bad) to four (excellent), and the trust was awarded an overall score of four - the highest achievable score.

York Hospital has previously come under criticism for its poor standard of cleanliness in some areas.

Staff recruitment problems, absenteeism, bad weather and ongoing construction work have combined to create cleaning problems at the hospital over the past few months.

An inspection of the rest of the hospital by the PEAT team earlier this year concluded that the trust could improve cleanliness and the standards of food.

The hospital was given an amber rating, based on a traffic light system, for the state of wards, corridors, reception areas and toilets.

The PEAT assessments were then extended to include accident and emergency departments.

Work is now under way to improve standards further, with plans to provide a dedicated ward housekeeper in five areas across the trust.

The six-month pilot scheme, due to begin in November, will provide support for the ward sister in delivery of better food, cleaner wards and more responsive non-clinical services for patients.

Meanwhile, cleaning contractors Initial are continuing their efforts to recruit more cleaning staff, following a failed bid to recruit workers from Selby, Thirsk, Goole and Driffield.

The company is now targeting Hull and the surrounding areas in a bid to solve its staffing shortages, which have been blamed for contributing to cleaning problems.

Staff recruitment is also the subject of work currently being carried out by the trust's human resources department. The staff vacancy rate is 5.1 per cent - the highest level since records were compiled for the trust board. Staff advertising has decreased by £169,000, so work is set to be carried out to determine whether there is any correlation between the reduction in advertising spending and the increase in trust vacancies.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has received an award for its efforts in promoting food hygiene.

The council's food services team was given a commendation in the Foodlink National Food Safety Communications Awards.

Among the team's initiatives to encourage food hygiene was a campaign targeting 160 ethnic catering establishments in East Yorkshire.

This included a presentation on food hygiene to a Chinese community group, and giving free training to local food businesses in the language of their choice.

David Pinder, senior environmental health officer at the council, said: "The team is thrilled to receive the award, which recognises the council's innovative scheme to breakdown the language barrier when communicating with our ethnic caterers."

Updated: 08:30 Tuesday, September 23, 2003