Edwin Poots MLA and Deputy Mayor of Lisburn.

That is one of the areas where we will be seeking to learn lessons. If there are outbreaks of pseudomonas in future, how do we respond? It is more than unfortunate that this has happened: it is tragic that it has happened. However, it would be very unfortunate if we did not learn lessons from what has happened to ensure that we minimise the prospects of it happening in the future.

Debate resumed on motion:

That the Second Stage of the Rates (Amendment) Bill [NIA 2/11-15] be agreed. — [The Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr Wilson).]

The letter that the Chief Medical Officer issued contained advice on management of sinks, and so forth. Sinks in those facilities should be used only for hand washing. They should not be used for disposing of fluids or anything like that. It is made clear that sinks are purely for hand washing and that staff should apply sanitiser to their hands afterwards.

I am not exactly sure whether the letter indicated the nature of what happened in Altnagelvin. However, I am quite happy to provide the Member with the information if he feels that it would be helpful.

Hospital cleaning goes on daily and should be to a very high standard. A lot of that comes down to the human beings who actually do it. It is very important that the people who are in charge of the wards ensure that the cleaners carry it out to the optimum standard. There is a considerable difference between that and deep cleaning. Keeping a ward clean, ensuring good hand hygiene, and so forth, to reduce the risk of infection is standard procedure. Deep cleans take place to remove micro-organisms that are so small that they can live even in environments that appear, on the surface, to be well-cleaned environments. There is an association between the cleanliness of a hospital and many of the bacteria that can survive in that clean environment, and we are aware of that association. Good practice should eliminate most of the problems that arise from that association.

The situation in respect of hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and clostridium difficile has improved quite dramatically. We are now looking at around half as many infections as was the case a couple of years ago. However, there is much more that can be done and much more that we can learn. One of the places from which we can probably learn most is Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. People such as triple amputees regularly go in there, but there are very low levels of infection. It is one of the most fantastically run facilities, given the risks and the conditions in which it operates.

More can be learned about hospital-acquired infections. We recently had an expert over from England who has been responsible for doing a lot of work in that area. Our trust chiefs, our Chief Medical Officer and a range of people from our hospitals came to learn about these issues. One hospital in Birmingham has been identified as having gone 800 days without a report of any hospital-acquired infections. That is the sort of level that we should aspire to and aim for here in Northern Ireland. I do not want to see any level of hospital-acquired infection; that is not a good enough target. I want to get it down to zero.