PATIENTS and staff at Furness General Hospital have been put at risk of cross-contamination and electrocution.

This is according to watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which carried out an inspection at the site last month.

A report based on the findings, which has been released this week, has now highlighted several issues with cleanliness and hygiene within the A&E department.

Furness MP John Woodcock said: “Given the norovirus problems at Furness General, it is worrying to find out that issues with cleanliness and hygiene in key parts of the hospital are continuing to occur.”

Inspectors who visited the site say they found an anaesthetic ‘breathing’ tube stored next to a drain used to flush bodily fluids, while there was exposed wiring and a live electrical lead on the floor in the resuscitation area.

The report says: “This meant that both staff and patients were at risk of electrical shock particularly if fluids came into contact with live electricity. It may also have caused a temporary power outage that could have impacted on care.”

Inspectors also found ripped mattresses and dusty surfaces.

They came across chest drains being stored on the floor, at risk of losing their sterility, and they say a dried leaf found on a windowsill suggested that ‘it had not been cleaned properly for some time’.

The handwashing sink was also dirty.

A daily domestic cleaning schedule for the resuscitation area stated that the sink and all horizontal surfaces were to be cleaned daily, with high dusting carried out on a weekly basis - but staff said they did not always have time. The report continued: “We spoke with domestic staff who told us: ‘If it's busy we can't get our schedules done, we try our hardest’..”

Staff at the hospital, run by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, are thought to have rectified several of the issues at the time.

Trust bosses are now required to take further action and submit a report to CQC by June 5.

Jackie Daniel, chief executive of the trust, said: “We fully accept the findings of the CQC and sincerely apologise for failing to meet the standards required and rightly expected by our patients and stakeholders.

“We have been working hard over the last year to rectify previous failings and understand that such incidents do not help to restore public confidence.

“Whilst we have made good progress, we still have some way to go to meet the standards the new Trust Board expects from all of our staff.”