MRSA Action UK: The latest MRSA figures show the postcode lottery remains
Friday, 20 March 2009 12:00 AM
MRSA Action UK welcomes the continuing downward trend in the numbers MRSA bloodstream infections. There is however some worrying facts that need to be addressed before we can finally say we have turned the corner in the battle with healthcare acquired infections.
A significant number of hospital trusts have higher MRSA bacteraemias this quarter compared to the last quarter, and some trusts have made no reduction at all. In fact the 7% reduction in this quarter has been achieved by less than half of all NHS Acute Trusts, with some making little significant improvement over the last 2 years.
The latest Health Protection Agency figures show the London Region has made the most dramatic improvement over the last 2 years. The trend is downward for every region, however not every hospital trust has made the great strides that many have achieved. The postcode lottery remains, yes you have the choice to go elsewhere, and if you live in Leeds then you probably will want to do just that.
Only this week we witnessed the shambolic management of Stafford General Hospital, and reports stated that regulators had ignored the desperate pleas of patients and their relatives, it took an independent research company to identify that there was a real problem with the statistics on mortality that prompted investigation. Here we have another example of a failing hospital trust where the statistics would make anyone think twice about going there for surgery with the high numbers of MRSA bacteraemias. Where then is the outcry and action from the regulator?
The zero tolerance ethos to infections has been adopted by the NHS, but it needs to be from Board to Ward, if the organisation does not support its staff by empowering them with the skills and resources to make care safer then ultimately this will mean more infections, harm and sadly avoidable deaths. Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust has on numerous occasions not signed off their self assessment saying they meet the core standards necessary to prevent infection within the prescribed timescales, this begs the question about the commitment of the organisation to achieving everyone's goal of reducing avoidable infections to zero. The new registration requirements are mandatory, and all Trusts have to sign to say they have infection prevention and control policies in place and that they are adhering to them to meet the new Care Quality Commission's requirements.
This is not a blip in the figures for Leeds, they consistently hit double figures with the quarterly reports of bacteraemias, and this quarter they had twice as many as in the previous quarter. It's time that this was investigated and measures brought in to save lives in this hospital. Leeds has the worst record in the country for MRSA bacteraemias, and we have to remember of course that this will be the tip of the iceberg for the number of infections reported, as this doesn't include surgical infections and urinary tract or catheter infections. The bacteraemias will be around only 6% of what is being reported.
When this Government introduced the system of mandatory reporting for MRSA bacteraemias, everyone thought that we could never achieve such reductions in the numbers of infections. The staff must be applauded for bringing down their MRSA rates. The mandatory reporting system has focused everyone's mind on the drive to reduce MRSA bacteraemias and as such MRSA Action UK now believe it is time to roll this quarterly reporting system out to other MRSA infections. In doing this we would then be able to drive down those infections to the same level or lower as MRSA bacteraemias.
There has to be open accessible reporting of the MRSA statistics, and while we can praise the Government for focusing on policies to reduce these infections, we must never forget that it was Government policy and a focus on other targets that made everyone take their eye off the ball and allow infections to spiral out of control in the first place.
Derek Butler
Chair
MRSA Action UK
Registered Charity No 1115672
Tel No 07762 741114
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