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D FOR MRSA CONTROL. ONCE AGAIN LABOUR RATHER LIAR THAN TELL US THE TRUTH. BLAIR A CHRISTIAN HE WOULD N’T MAKE A GOOD SUN/WORSHIPER. http://www.democraticdeficit.org.uk/mrsa.html#step5 MRSA: More Deaths than on the Roads Government 'is hampering the fight against MRSA superbug' ... Group chairman Tony Field said: "The situation is far worse even than this (20000) figure ... More Back to top. ________________________________________ Wound Dressing and MRSA A doctor argues that current wound dressing are a 19th Century relic. The seemingly unstoppable march of the antibiotic resistant superbug, MRSA, through our hospitals is the cause of much concern. The fact that most deaths from MRSA are from skin infections leads many people to assume that it is transferred by skin to skin contact. However, MRSA colonises the nose as well as the skin, where it can be carried by healthy people. Many hospital staff are thought to be carriers, and they can pass on MRSA to the vulnerable by breathing on them. Without insisting that all staff and patients in hospitals wear face masks, what can be done to prevent the spread of this superbug? It is worth remembering that MRSA is usually only a problem when it colonises broken skin, for instance bed sores, foot ulcers and surgical incisions. The nest way of preventing patients dying from MRSA may well be to prevent infection of these open wounds and promote their rapid healing. Modern moist dressings are now available, which interact with the wound to spread healing, reduce scarring and ease dressing changes. Many contain broad-spectrum antibacterial agents such as silver - effectively a less toxic equivalent to bleach - which kill disease-causing bacteria including MRSA. Yet, current wound-care practice in the UK is lamentable. Doctors and nurses still rely on 19th century dressings like gauze to cover wounds while healing occurs. Only the cost of modern dressings is holding back their wider use. The full cost of the MRSA infection to the NHS and the UK economy needs to be taken into account. Patients should not be put at risk of MRSA infection by outmoded wound-care practices. Letter from Dr Christopher Winchester in The Independent, 20 July 2004 ________________________________________ More Back to top. ________________________________________ Fresh bid to tackle superbug Alcohol rubs are to be put beside every hospital patient as part of a major drive to tackle life-threatening superbugs, it has been announced. The campaign is aiming to save 450 lives and £140 million a year by encouraging hospital staff to clean their hands as often as possible. It is hoped the initiative will help halt the spread of deadly superbugs, like MRSA, and other infections, which kill 5,000 patients each year. The Government-funded campaign requires all hospitals to introduce the disinfectant alcohol rubs by next April. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel will be encouraged to use the rubs between every patient contact to cut the risk of germs spreading. As part of the drive, patients will also be encouraged ask staff whether they have washed their hands before they are treated. The "cleanyourhands" campaign is being launched by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). It follows a successful pilot at six hospitals, where the rubs helped treble the rate of hand-cleaning by healthcare staff. Julie Storr, the NPSA's assistant director for infection control, said the measures would save lives and cut infection rates by up to 50%. The Department of Health is providing extra cash to fund the campaign as part of its multi-pronged attack on hospital superbugs, unveiled earlier this year. Hospital-acquired infections strike some 100,000 people each year in England. Patient power, supervision of cleaners by ward sisters or matrons, new hospitals and experts from abroad are some of the other moves intended to cut hospital-acquired infections and improve hygiene standards. Ananova 01 September 2004 ________________________________________ Don't go into hospital before next April! ________________________________________ More Back to top. ________________________________________ Labour is to blame for superbugs, says Howard Thousands of people die "needlessly" each year from hospital-acquired infections which, the Conservatives will claim today, have proliferated since Labour came to power. In a speech about hospital hygiene, Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, will accuse the Government of failing to take the infection crisis seriously. Infections picked up in hospitals affect around 100,000 patients a year and kill 5,000, at a cost to the NHS of around £1 billion. Mr Howard will say that a Conservative government would make ridding hospitals of so-called superbugs "a key priority" and will describe hospital-acquired infections as the new "British disease". "Do you remember the British disease? It described Britain's economic and industrial weakness when the trade unions were out of control. The last Conservative government cured it," he will say. "The new British disease is the superbug in our hospitals which it is estimated kills at least 5,000 people a year." Over the last seven years, rates of MRSA - or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - have doubled. MRSA accounts for 44 per cent of hospital-acquired infections. According to the National Audit Office, around nine per cent of hospital patients catch an infection. In 2001, 64 per cent of hospitals had to close wards because of infections. By 2003 it was 81 per cent. In July, John Reid, the Health Secretary, ordered hospitals to publish infection rates and announced plans to reintroduce ward matrons to oversee hygiene. By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph, 02 September 2004 ________________________________________ Mr Howard's selective recall One of the key factors in the spread of MRSA is the current policy of 105% bed occupancy - 'overcrowding' to you and me - introduced by the Thatcher regime in its efforts to cut health spending so that the very wealthy could receive further tax cuts. Whole wards were closed as a matter of routine. The activities of the egregious Sir Jasper Ackers - I kid you not! - in the Birmingham area, were well documented. Sir Jasper, pal of Virginia Bottomley - one of the worst Health Secretaries since the war - saw closing wards as his mission in life. ________________________________________ More Back to top. ________________________________________ MRSA deaths 'four times NHS figure' The number of people killed by MRSA in England is four times higher than the official nationwide figure, campaigners claimed. National Audit Office statistics which show around 5,000 people die from the hospital superbug every year are a decade out of date, says the MRSA Support Group. The Birmingham-based organisation, which has 400 members across the UK, believes the number of reported cases of MRSA, or methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is closer to 20,000. It worked out its estimate from trawling through figures provided by the National Audit Office, the Department of Health and the House of Commons debates record Hansard. Group chairman Tony Field said: "The situation is far worse even than this (20,000) figure because doctors are not obliged to mention MRSA on a death certificate as a secondary cause of death. There's a lot of unreporting." Mr Field, 64, gave up his job as a financial adviser after being left on crutches by a hospital infection. He added: "It's quite outrageous. We call it the 'unnecessary infection' because if the hospitals were clean and proper hygiene was undertaken the problem would be reduced enormously. "The Government is in a state of denial over the whole matter and they ought to wake up and face the truth before they can get matters right." At present, the DoH is without an official statistic for the number of people who die from MRSA, or other hospital-based infections, every year. The only indication it has, said a DoH spokeswoman, was the National Audit Office's annual figure of 5,000 - which was first published in 1994. She said the Government had promised to improve the information available on MRSA by 2006. Ananova, 13 October 2004 ________________________________________ More Back to top. ________________________________________ Chief nurse to lead superbug fight England's new top nurse with the tough job of ridding hospital wards of the MRSA superbug has been appointed by Health Secretary John Reid. Chris Beasley, who started her career in 1962 at the Royal London Hospital, will take the post of Chief Nursing Officer. Dr Reid said her top priority was to improve hospital cleanliness and tackle hospital acquired infections like MRSA, estimated to be responsible for at least 5,000 deaths a year. On a visit to the Middlesex Hospital in central London, Dr Reid said he was delighted to welcome Ms Beasley to this "vitally important job". "I have made clear that her first concern must be to ensure all NHS hospitals come up to the standard of the best when it comes to cleanliness and infection control. "Everyone has a role to play - hospital cleaners are as important as consultants when it comes to these issues. "Nurses, doctors and other staff are in the frontline of this struggle, and I am determined hospital managers and my department give them the support they need," Dr Reid said.