Rochdale Dialysis Unit receives low food hygiene rating

Rochdale Infirmary

The Dialysis Unit at the Rochdale Infirmary has received a low food hygiene rating following an inspection in January.

The inspection at the kidney treatment service, operated by Fresenius Medical Care within the Infirmary, gave the unit a food hygiene rating of one out of a possible five.

The Infirmary itself, operated by Pennine Acute Trust, received the maximum five rating of ‘very good’ for an inspection the same day, rated as ‘good’ for both hygienic food handling and management of food safety and ‘very good’ regarding cleanliness and condition of facilities and building.

Within the Dialysis Unit, a satellite unit of Salford Royal, food safety officers found that improvement was necessary for hygienic food handling, including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage, whilst 'major improvement' was necessary in regards to the management of food safety.

Management of food safety concerns - 'systems or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future.'

Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building were marked as ‘generally satisfactory’.

Nicola Rogers, Rochdale Borough Council’s public protection service manager, said: “The Rochdale Dialysis Unit was awarded a level one food hygiene rating in its latest inspection in January 2017. The unit is working to improve its score and the council is offering advice and support to help them improve their score.”

Rochdale Dialysis Unit is managed and staffed by Fresenius Medical Renal Services. Around 52 Salford Royal patients, who live in the Rochdale area, access the service for their dialysis treatment.

A spokesman for Salford Royal said: “We are naturally very disappointed that the unit has received an unsatisfactory food hygiene rating. The welfare and safety of our patients using this unit is of the utmost importance to us. We are aware that inspectors found that one of Fresenius’s food fridges on the unit was not operating at the correct temperature. This fridge has now been replaced. We will liaise closely with Fresenius to ensure our patients receive their care in facilities which meet the highest of standards.”

Fresenius Medical Care did not respond to an invitation to comment.