'Fog of ignorance' on superbugs

Thursday, 23 June 2005 12:00 AM

The Government's handling of the dangers of hospital acquired infections has been sharply criticised by an influential group of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee said that the data on superbug infections was still "rough and ready" and a "fog of ignorance" surrounded the subject.

Chairman in the previous Parliament, Edward Leigh, said that it was four years since the committee had highlighted the cost of hospital acquired infections and the "paucity of information".

"Today we find that little has been done to dispel this fog of ignorance. There is still no mandatory national surveillance and reporting scheme for all hospital acquired infections, the only mandatory reporting scheme for which data has been published is for MRSA bloodstream infections, which account for less than six per cent of all hospital acquired infections. These data show that our MRSA infection rate ranks among the worst in Europe."

He added: "The much quoted figure of 5,000 deaths each year as a result of a hospital acquired infection is rough and ready and dates from the 1980s. It must be updated."

Mr Leigh called on the Department of Health to implement "without delay" proposals to ensure more accurate recording of deaths linked to hospital acquired infections and transform this year's initiatives into action.

The chairman added: "The truth is that, over the last four years, there has been little serious and effective action to combat hospital acquired infection. It is astonishing that poor ward cleanliness, lax hand-washing practices, a shortage of isolation facilities and high bed occupancy rates are still plaguing NHS hospitals.

"I welcome the fact that the department has sprung into action this year with a raft of initiatives. What I don't want is for this committee to return to this subject in four years' time and find that the initiatives have not been translated into solid progress."

Health Minister Jane Kennedy admitted today that the health service must undergo a "culture change" if it was to get hospital-acquired infections under control.

Speaking as the Government unveiled the latest MRSA infection figures - which show a fall from last year - she said hospital managers had to realise that such infections were not inevitable.

"A cultural change needs to take place in all our hospitals," she said.

"It's about reinforcing the message that fighting this is everybody's business. It isn't just the responsibility of infection control teams, it's everybody's responsibility."

Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the committee's report showed Labour had failed to tackle the problem.

Mr Lansley said: "This report condemns the complacency and lack of action by this Government in tackling hospital acquired infections over the last five years. This has been confirmed by the scant mention of hospital acquired infections in the Department of Health's recent 2005 Annual Report.

"Pressure from the National Audit Office, the Conservative Party and the media has forced the Government to announce a number of initiatives in the space of the last few months, but these respond only to a fraction of the problem and are too often delayed."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said it was time for the Government to tell the true story about hospital infections.

He said: "The Government's figures don't tell the whole story. The Government must collect and publish the facts about the true level of infection in the NHS, including MRSA and other serious infections.

"Ministers are obsessed with coming up with 15 new initiatives before breakfast to grab the headlines. What is needed is a sustained evidence-based approach to tackling the problems of antibiotic resistant bugs and hospital infection control."

But health service union Unison had a different view of where the blame lay.

Head of health Karen Jennings said: "Unison is very clear who is to blame for the situation we now face in our hospitals - the ignorance of Tory policies. The Tories valued cost over quality and this led to poor standards in basic hygiene, poor staffing levels and poor practice, with staff facing cut after cut.

"We are now paying a high price for those policies which resulted in the highest growth rates of MRSA in the mid 1990s."

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