Dear Sir or Madam,

Please could you inform me of when the Trust last did a
micro-biological test of the air conditioning at East Surrey
Hospital; how frequently is this scheduled and how is the air
conditioning cleaned?

With many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Grace Filby FRSA, Churchill Fellow, Reigate, Surrey

www.relax-well.co.uk www.amazingphage.info

Dear Grace,

Thank you for your request for information about eradicating bacteria,
viruses and mould. Your request was received by the Trust on 4 August 2008
and will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act
2000. I confirm your request is receiving attention and a response will be
made within twenty working days, to take effect from the day after your
request was received.

If you have any queries please contact me using the e-mail address below.
Please quote the following reference number in any future communications
0316.

Jim Rust
Risk Management Facilitator
Room AD10a
Maple House
East Surrey Hospital
Redhill
Surrey
RH1 5RH
01737 768511 ext 6219
e-mail: [email address]

show quoted sections

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Maple House,

East Surrey Hospital

Canada Avenue, Redhill,

Surrey RH1 5RH

[email address]

<http://www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk/> www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk

Tel: 01737 231774/Fax: 01737 231769

JER

Dear Grace

Freedom of Information Request 0316

Please note that your request has been processed under the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The information you requested is: Eradicating bacteria

Our response is:

We have a comprehensive set of planned preventative maintenance schedules to
ensure that the conditions for the growth of harmful bacteria are minimized
to the point where the likelihood of a problem is negligible.

We carry out regular inspections, filter changes, motor and fan checks and
duct cleaning. The frequency of these inspections ranges from monthly to
annually based on the criticality of the asset.

Duct cleaning is an ongoing process and all extract systems, serving WC's,
bathrooms, kitchens, changing rooms etc have been cleaned in the last 3
months. Photographic evidence of the before and after state of all extract
systems cleaned is available and the work is certified to industry standard
TR/19. This is the Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association standard
for ductwork cleaning.

The trust does not routinely carry out bacteria tests within ventilation
systems. The reason for this is that micro biological particles can only be
captured in a HEPA filter, DOP (Di Octyl Phthalate) tested on installation.
Very few of these are installed at East Surrey Hospital. This is true of
both extract and supply systems.

This concludes your request. Please be assured that we have carefully
considered your request. However, if you are not satisfied with this
response you may request an independent internal review by an appropriate
senior member of staff at the Trust, who has had no involvement in dealing
with your original request. We aim to deal with appeals within 20 working
days following receipt. If you wish to appeal against this decision,
please set out your grounds for review in writing and address to:

Complaints Co-ordinator

Complaints Department

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Maple House,

East Surrey Hospital Canada Avenue, Redhill, Surrey RH1 5RH

Emails should be clearly marked 'Information access appeal' and sent to:
[email address] <mailto:[email address]> . Should you
remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of
complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office; however, I should point
out that under section 50(2)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, you are
obliged to exhaust the Trust's own internal complaint mechanism before
complaining to the Information Commissioner's Office. Further information on
the ICO can be obtained from the contact details below:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House Water Lane

Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 700 www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
<http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/>

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright,
Designs and Patients Act 1998. You are free to use it for your own
purposes, including any non commercial use you are doing and for the
purposes of news reporting. Another other reuse, for example commercial
publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most
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produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find
details on the arrangements for reusing Crown Copyright on the HMS Online
at: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licence... .

The information you receive which is not subject to Crown Copyright
continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation,
from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain
permission before reproducing any third party (non Crown Copyright)
information. If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.
Please remember to quote the reference number: 0316 on all correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Jim Rust

Risk Management Facilitator

Room AD10a

Maple House

East Surrey Hospital

Redhill

Surrey

RH1 5RH

01737 768511 ext 6219

e-mail: [email address]

http://www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk

DISCLAIMER: Unless expressly stated otherwise, the information contained in
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Dear Jim,

Many thanks for your reply. I have sent a follow-up email to you
and also to the hospital's microbiologist, since I understand there
is some US-govt. recommended technology that would solve the
problem with the lack of filters and also cut operating costs.

Yours sincerely,

Grace Filby