Hospitals could be made 'liable' for MRSA

Monday, 16 May 2005 12:00 AM

Hospitals managers could have a legal duty to keep their wards free from superbugs such as MRSA, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has revealed.

The measure is expected to form part of a bill in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday, which would also provide patients with avenues for redress following botched operations and introduce a ban on smoking in public places.

On Sunday, the newly installed Health Secretary told ITV1's Dimbleby programme that it was wrong that hygiene laws and standards were tougher in food factories than hospitals.

She said the Government was considering making hospital bosses criminally responsible if patients caught superbugs, and stressed that visitors also had a responsibility.

"We need a much stronger legal framework and we'll be consulting on that in a couple of months' time," she said.

Ms Hewitt also defended the Government's policy of greater involvement for the private sector in the provision of healthcare services.

On Friday, she announced a new wave of contracts for 1.7 million operations- worth around £3 billion over five years - to be carried out by independent treatment centres run by private companies.

She told the programme that only by investing in both the public and private sectors could NHS capacity rise and waiting lists be reduced.

"We can do this better and faster by using a small amount of the independent sector and by putting more money and reform into the NHS itself," she said.

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