MRSA Action UK: Transparency on MRSA and healthcare associated infections must include the whole health economy

Wednesday, 9 June 2010 12:00 AM

MRSA Action UK welcomes the Health Secretary's comments that he wants to wipe out all avoidable healthcare and infections and that there must be a zero tolerance to these infections in our hospitals. We hope the Secretary of State for Health will take on board our comments.

The Secretary of State for Health has been bold in announcing the changes to the way the data is released regarding MRSA and C-diff, and including infections such as MSSA and E-coli in the future. Taking a total zero tolerance approach has to include other pathogens too, however we need to take the extra step of including the possible 30,000 infections that will not be reported in our hospitals even after this huge step forward.

These infections are the MRSA wound, catheter and line, and surgical site infections that are endemic in our hospitals. It is disingenuous for hospitals to say that they are MRSA free when this only means that they have not had any recorded MRSA bacteraemias.

A zero tolerance of all healthcare associated infections must include those pathogens we do not monitor, measure and record. Those MRSA wound, catheter and surgical site infections are just as debilitating and life threatening as those that we record with regularity. All too often our Charity is contacted by patients and their loved ones asking us for help with these types of MRSA infections and whilst the figures look impressive in relation to MRSA bacteraemias we are only fooling ourselves and the public in thinking we are winning the battle against MRSA, nothing could be further from the truth. Having transparency means we must hide nothing from the public especially in relation to healthcare associated infections.

We hope the Secretary of State for Health will consider looking at another area that gives our Charity grave concerns, and that is in the area of the community. Our analysis of the latest data released for MRSA and C-diff infections under the new reporting system shows that the proportion of these infections in comparison to those in our hospitals is growing larger. There seems to be an enormous effort to reduce these infection in our hospitals whilst ignoring the community which is all part of the whole health economy. If we do not face up to this problem of infections in the community at the same time as those in our hospitals any further initiatives and success in reducing healthcare infections will falter

The Secretary of State for Health said in his speech "I have spent too long with too many people who have lost loved ones to healthcare associated infections not to be determined to act on this" and in 2008 he attended our Memorial at Westminster Abbey and met with many people who had lost loved ones to healthcare associated infections.

We believe that the Secretary of State has begun very positive moves in relation to healthcare associated infections and we hope that he will take on board our concerns in relationship to a total zero tolerance approach to all avoidable infection across the whole health economy.

Derek Butler
Chair
MRSA Action UK
Registered Charity No.1115672
Tel No 07762 741114
Derek.butler@mrsaactionuk.net
http://mrsaactionuk.net

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