OnTheWight has had sight of the damning Food Hygiene inspection report for St Mary’s Hospital, which has led to the service being awarded a food hygiene rating of one out of five.
The report sets out 15 requirements that need addressing, many immediately and others within one or two months.
The Isle of Wight council refused to release photographs from the inspection, stating that, “under a section 31 exemption we will not release, as they may be used for future inspections and enforcement activity should it arise”.
Out of date foods and fish thawed out of fridge
Highlights from the report include:
- Fish being thawed at room temperature instead of in the fridge overnight – This can allow for the germination and growth of bacteria on the warm outer surface, though the centre is frozen
- Inconsistent labeling of foods use by and best before dates on patient sandwiches
- Some foods stored in fridges had not been labelled to indicate when they should be used by
- Some items in the dry store had not been stock rotated e.g. Worcestershire sauce had a best before date of ‘Jul 18’.
- Cleaning products were not being used properly
Risk of contaminating with allergens
At the time of the inspection there was a risk of accidentally contaminating food with allergens not contained in the dish, because stored ingredients such as flour and mustard powder had spilled out onto the trolley containing an assortment of other ingredients such as herbs and spices.
The labels on the Potato and Mushroom Tart, and on the Chocolate Sponge indicated that there were no allergens contained in these meals.
However, upon inspection of the recipes for these dishes it was revealed that the Chocolate Sponge contained Flour, Eggs and Milk and the Potato and Mushroom Tart contained Cheese, Egg and Milk.
Other serious concerns included the risk of contamination to food. For example
- Food, including leek and cheese sauce, was stored in the dairy refrigerator uncovered.
- There was also water dripping from the evaporator unit mounted on the ceiling above the food.
- There was flour and mustard powder spilt on the trolley containing herbs and spices. This presents a risk of allergen cross-contamination.
- A bowl of tuna mayonnaise was stored in the sandwich fillings refrigerator.
- A spoon had been left laying down in the bowl, leaving the hand contact surface of handle in contact with the tuna and risking contamination
Mould and grease
Although the general standard of hygiene was satisfactory, the inspector found mould growth on the walls of the walk-in dairy chiller.
There was also an accumulation of dust and grease on the grease filters in the extractor hood.
Poor conditions
The inspector also noted in the report that the edge of the wall in the dairy fridge was damaged, missing pieces of plastic cladding, exposing the adhesive beneath.
The evaporator in the walk-in diary fridge was dripping, causing a puddle of water to form on the floor and a number of fridge seals, including the sandwich fridge and the salad fridge, were split and perished.
Cardboard on the floor in front of the deep fat fryers had become saturated with grease, presenting the risk of a slip, trip or fall.
IW NHS: Immediate action taken to address concerns
An Isle of Wight NHS Trust spokesperson said that immediate action had been taken to address the concerns raised by inspectors.
They said,
“A full deep clean has been carried out, faulty equipment is being repaired or replaced, staff training has been stepped up and we are improving record keeping and documentation.
“We fully expect our next inspection to show significant improvement.”
The report
You can see the report in full below. Click on the full screen icon to see larger version.
Image: © Used with the kind permission of Auntie P
