Patients at Darlington Memorial Hospital “can and should” be allowed to shower despite continuing efforts to eradicate an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the trust’s chief executive has said.
Shower restrictions were introduced at Darlington Memorial Hospital in 2025 with patients told to wash using wipes due to water contamination caused by the antibiotic-resistant bacteria Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales (CPE).
Darlington MP Lola McEvoy previously wrote to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust calling on bosses to ensure that "dignity is not sacrificed" in the name of infection control.
Speaking to the Echo last week, Steve Russell, the trust's chief executive, said shower restrictions introduced during the height of the outbreak appeared to have become common practice because staff believed they were still required to protect patients.
But Mr Russell has now insisted that patients can safely use the drinking water and have showers at the hospital.
Chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, Steve Russell
(Image: Chris Booth/NORTHERN ECHO)
However, he acknowledged the trust had not communicated clearly enough that showers were now permitted.
“We agree that people should be able to shower,” Mr Russell said.
“We were not successful enough in communicating that showers are now permitted.
“They must be risk-assessed, but we should be offering patients showers.
“People can and should be able to shower.”
The Darlington Memorial Hospital sign in the car park
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Mr Russell said one outbreak remained on a single ward and was now in its “latter stages”, with nine patients affected.
There had been no new positive cases for several weeks, he added, although the trust was continuing to follow a stringent process before declaring the outbreak over.
CPE is resistant to antibiotics and can be dangerous if it enters the bloodstream of vulnerable patients or those with weakened immune systems.
Mr Russell stressed that the hospital’s drinking water remained safe and that CPE was not present in the incoming water supply.
“CPE is generally not a risk to healthy people but can be dangerous for vulnerable hospital patients or those with compromised immunity,” he said.
“It is resistant to antibiotics and can be difficult to treat if it enters the bloodstream, with potentially serious outcomes.”
He said CPE was a challenge across the NHS but had been a particular problem at Darlington Memorial Hospital, partly because of the age of the building.
“That is not an excuse, but it creates challenges,” he said.
At the height of the outbreak, when a significant number of patients were carrying CPE, stringent infection-control measures were introduced, and staff were advised to restrict access to showers.
Patients later reported being required to clean themselves using specialist wipes instead, while Infection-control audits, ward refurbishments, and “waterless bathing” procedures were introduced at the time.
Mr Russell said patients who were told they should not shower, but wished to do so, should ask to speak to the ward matron.
A very small number of patients could have medical conditions that placed them at greater risk, he said, but an alternative washing arrangement should then be identified, potentially on another ward.
The front of Darlington Memorial Hospital
(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
The trust is also carrying out work to replace sinks and improve showers across the hospital.
That work is due to begin this month, with sinks removed from patient bays and installed in corridors in line with specialist advice.
Some showers have already been upgraded, while all have undergone risk assessments to check that water drains properly.
Mr Russell said any showers found to drain less effectively had already been improved.
However, he warned that upgrading every ward would require substantial investment.
Read more
What would you ask the boss of scandal-hit County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust?
New era for North East eye care as £50m specialist eye hospital opens its doors
What is the weather like in Darlington and County Durham this week?
“We would like to upgrade every ward, but that requires significant investment,” he said.
“Upgrading all showers would cost about £2 million, and we do not have enough capital funding to complete it at once.”
The trust had submitted a bid for national capital funding because of the hospital’s age and the scale of the work required, but the application was unsuccessful.
The latest update follows more than three years of efforts to control CPE at Darlington Memorial Hospital.