DIRTY ambulances will lead to big fines under new measures announced by health chiefs.

Ambulance chiefs in Worcestershire face fines of up to £50,000 by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) if they break tough new rules on infection prevention and control.

The risk of fines was mentioned at a meeting of the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust board.

It is a legal requirement that the trust has to register with the CQC by April 1 next year but registering means the trust could face sanctions, including fines, if it does not measure up to hygiene measures to beat superbugs such as MRSA or enforce safety procedures to reduce the risk of staff contracting infections like HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

Ambulances are viewed in the same way as any other medical facility such as a hospital ward and must be kept as clean as possible at all times under the new guidelines.

The CQC is a health watchdog which will bring together the work of the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission.

The watchdog can impose sanctions including warning letters, fines for every breach which must be paid within 28 days and suspension of registration with the CQC.

Breaches could lead to a fine for any breaking of the code which includes nine standards on issues such as training, risk assessment, hand-washing, the appointment of an infection control specialist, working more closely with hospitals, wearing gloves, disposing of sharp objects safely and managing infection outbreaks.

Gill Bennett, director of infection prevention and control, said the new code made it clear that ambulances would be viewed as any other treatment area.

She said the trust was already “partially compliant” with some of the conditions laid down in the code.

She said: ”We are the leader in this nationally. Our infection and prevention control officer is seen to be an expert in this group but is also linking with the Department of Health group about these particular standards for ambulances.

“It is highly unlikely we will face sanctions because we are compliant with a lot of these areas already.”