{
  "id": 5272716,
  "title": "When hospitals make you sick: What patients must know",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/when-hospitals-make-you-sick-what-patients-must-know",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-03T06:49:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ghanaian Times",
    "slug": "ghanaian-times",
    "url": "https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/when-hospitals-make-you-sick-what-patients-must-know/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Healthcare facilities are meant to be places of healing, but inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene practices can put patients, medical staff and caregivers at risk of avoidable infections. According to a new report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, only 40 percent of hospitals worldwide comply with basic sanitation standards in 2025. Furthermore, fewer than 60 percent of facilities meet the necessary environmental cleaning standards, which include patient rooms, wards, operating theatres, examination and treatment areas, and toilets.\n\nIn Ghana, the situation is even more concerning. Only 16 percent of health facilities met basic sanitation standards, while 65 percent had basic water services, and 54 percent adhered to basic hygiene service standards.",
  "summary": "A health facility should be a place of healing, but poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions can expose patients, health workers and caregivers to preventable infections. A new WHO/UNICEF report shows that globally, only four in 10 healthcare facilities met basic sanitation standards in 2025, while fewer than six in 10 met basic environmental … The post When hospitals make you sick:…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}