MRSA Action UK: Time for openness on healthcare infections

Monday, 29, Sep 2008 12:00

MRSA Action UK has read with interest, the figures obtained by the Shadow Health Secretary The Rt Hon Andrew Lansley MP on the number of deaths from MRSA and C-diff. We have reservations that these numbers obtained by the Shadow Health Secretary do not represent the true scale of the number of people who have been lost to these two particular bacterium.

We have always been aware that the numbers officially released by this Government have only represented a fraction of the true extent of the deaths concerned with MRSA and C-diff. If the figures obtained by the Shadow Health Secretary are accurate, and they have been obtained from the Department of Health, then we have concluded that the true numbers of those lost since the time this Government was elected in 1997 is in excess of half a million from both MRSA and C-diff. These figures have been deduced from the Government’s own admittance that they only record 6% of all Healthcare Infections.

As a Charity supporting those affected by Healthcare Infections our own experience show that there is vast under-reporting of these infections in our hospitals, and those who have died whilst infected with them. One family who are members of our Charity, have in fact had 4 close family members infected with MRSA alone of whom 3 died whilst infected with this particular bacteria. None of these deaths have been recorded in the Government’s statistics.

We have stated that this Government had presided over the biggest rise in Healthcare Infections in our hospitals than that of any Government in history and these figures show this to be true. The figures obtained by the Shadow Health Secretary show that fatalities for MRSA in 1997, there were just 386 cases, rising to 1,593 in 2007, whilst for C-diff there were 975 fatalities in 1997 rising to a staggering 8,324 in 2007.

We are interested to see what the Conservative Party, who are in the lead in the opinion polls, have to say about combating Healthcare Infections. Whilst we endorse the evidence that this Government have failed abysmally to prevent enormous suffering and loss to families with Healthcare Infections, we need to see substance and firm commitments as to what a future Conservative Government would introduce to reduce further these infections in our Hospitals.

We know from meeting the Shadow Health Secretary that he is an advocate of the “Search and Destroy” policy that has been so successful in the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries of Northern Europe, and would wish this to translate into Government policy if the Conservatives win the next General Election. Our Charity would like to see what the Conservative Party would introduce differently, to improve greatly on what this present Government has done.

MRSA Action UK would like to see a commitment from the Conservative Party that what they are posturing in opposition they will commit to in Government. Our Charity knows only to well that it can easily criticise what the present Government is doing in respect to Healthcare Infections, but we have ourselves placed before this Government our proposals and ideas on how to make further and far more dramatic reductions in these infections in our hospitals and we would like to see less rhetoric and more policy ideas to combat these infections that blight so many lives.

We will look forward to hearing the Shadow Health Secretary’s speech at this year’s Conservative Conference where we hope to hear from him firm proposals on how he and a future Conservative Government will tackle the scourge of Healthcare Infections in our hospitals. We will also listen on how they will deal with the emerging threat of Community Acquired MRSA and how they will prevent it becoming endemic in our Healthcare facilities.

It is time for all our elected representatives to ensure that we remove from our healthcare facilities the infections that destroy and blight so many lives.

Derek Butler

Chair

MRSA Action UK

http://mrsaactionuk.net

07762 741114