Hospital failings allow superbugs to spread
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hospital failings allow superbugs to spread*
By Nicole Martin
Last Updated: 1:31am BST 25/04/2007
Thousands of patients risk contracting potentially deadly superbugs
because NHS hospitals are not taking basic steps to stop the spread of
infection, research for The Daily Telegraph reveals today.
An independent study of 167 NHS hospital trusts in England found that
infection control was in a state of disarray, with hospitals unable to
reassure the public that they are screening and isolating enough
infected patients.
Only 10 of the trusts surveyed could provide data showing that they had
isolated more than 90 per cent of individuals with MRSA - a standard
that infection control experts regard as fundamental in the battle
against hospital-acquired bugs.
The findings, provided by Dr Foster Research, the independent health
information company, raise serious questions about the Government's
promise to make infection control a top priority.
The figures come at a time when cases of C. difficile and MRSA are soaring.
Patient groups said the results were "alarming" and showed that the
Government was losing the battle against MRSA and other deadly infections.
While best practice guidance from the Department of Health leaves it up
to individual trusts to decide how they screen for MRSA, scientific
evidence shows that rapid screening and isolation are critical to
combating the spread of hospital-acquired infections.
However, in half of the trusts surveyed, patients had to wait up to 72
hours for their screening results to be returned, putting thousands of
others at risk of contracting an infection.
In only five trusts, patients were screened and told whether they were
infected in less than 24 hours.
Deaths linked to hospital superbugs have increased dramatically.
Government figures show that between 2004 and 2005, the number of deaths
recorded as associated with MRSA rose 39 per cent. Those that mentioned
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) rose by 69 per cent. Data from the
Office for National Statistics showed that mentions of C. difficile on
death certificates rose from 2,247 in 2004 to 3,807 the following year,
while mentions of MRSA rose from 1,168 to 1,629.
The Dr Foster Research audit revealed that few trusts were able to
provide robust data on hospital-acquired infections.
Only 18 trusts were able to say how many patients diagnosed with MRSA
had been isolated in a single room or on a ward housing only infected
patients in 2005/6.
One trust in the South Central region said: "These are unknown to us at
the moment - we have no way of collecting this data."
A trust in the East Midlands said: "All patients are isolated eventually
- some had gone home by the time they were identified."
Hospitals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were excluded from the
audit.
Michael Summers, of the Patients' Association, accused the Government of
not taking seriously the risk of MRSA.
"Cuts in spending in the NHS have had a devastating impact on infection
control. People phoning our helpline tell us that bed sheets aren't
being washed and that beds are not being cleaned," he said.
"It's not good enough. The number of deaths from MRSA has been rising
steadily since 1993 when 51 people died from the bug. In 2005, almost
1,700 people lost their lives from the infection."
Peter Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London
Hospitals, said there were not enough single rooms to isolate infected
patients. In the absence of isolation wards, he said it was all the more
important that patients at risk of MRSA were screened as soon as possible.
Countries with low rates of hospital-acquired infections, such as the
Netherlands, are able to isolate infected patients because their
hospitals are less crowded than in Britain. Bed occupancy rates in the
Netherlands are around 60 per cent compared with more than 87 per cent
in Britain.
Andrew Lansley, the shadow health spokesman, said: "Over the last nine
years there have been far too many cases where the Government has
allowed MRSA to become endemic. Three years ago we called on the
Government to implement a 'search and destroy' strategy that has been
effective in Holland and Denmark but not even piloted in England.
"It is time for us to take on the threat of new and more dangerous
bacteria. It is time for the Government at the very least to fund a
pilot search and destroy scheme".
Lord Hunt, the Health Minister, said: "MRSA figures are continuing to
fall, but there is no room for complacency. One avoidable infection is
one too many and we are determined to ensure the NHS has good hygiene
procedures."