MRSA: Liberal Democrats confirm MRSA target failings

Monday, 18, Aug 2008 12:00

Today (Monday the 18th August) the Liberal Democrats have released their analysis of the latest figures for Healthcare Infections in England and Wales, published by the Health Protection Agency on 17th July 2008. The Liberal Democrats’ findings supports last week’s report by MRSA Action UK “How truthful are the figures for MRSA”.

The reports released by both the Liberal Democrats and MRSA Action UK show that over 64% of NHS Trusts have failed to reduce their MRSA bacteraemias by the required 50% target set by John Reid in November 2004. In fact the Liberal Democrats have identified 23 hospitals that have higher rates of MRSA bacteraemias than they had when John Reid announced the 50% reduction. All of this supports the MRSA Action UK analysis and we maintain our contention that the Government have been less then open in respect to them hitting the 50% reduction target.

In failing to hit this target, the Government and its Health Minister have now decided to move the goal posts and have re-emphasised that the true date for the figures will not be until the period from April to June of this year, three months after the deadline set by John Reid in November 2004. In not being content with this, the Government have also moved the date of which the figures will be released for that quarter to the 18th September, with the figures for C-diff not being released until the normal allotted date in October.

We wonder why the regular mandatory reporting of the Infection rates in our hospitals now sees a change in frequency. The figures for both MRSA and C-diff have been released at the same time for a number of years, those being the months of, January, April, July and October. We believe that this change, which has been published on the Health Protection Agency website, is for political expediency, with one quarter’s comparative information to be published two days prior to the Labour Party Conference.

It would appear that the Ministers may have moved the goal posts so that they can use what is relatively a good period in the calendar year for infections to announce the reduction in the MRSA Infection rates at the Party Conference in front of the world’s media, when in fact John Reid’s deadline has passed.

Healthcare Infections are not a political tool that should be used for the convenience of elected representatives to point score for political or populist reasons, we are talking about people who are suffering unnecessarily whilst our Government dithers. The reporting in respect to Healthcare Infections should be factual such as the two reports from ourselves, and the Liberal Democrats. There is still much to be done around the country, it is not acceptable to have a postcode lottery for clean, safe care.

Norman Lamb the Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson has said, “Now the deadline for their own MRSA target has passed, the Government might think the political pressure is off. However, it is not off for the NHS.” Our Charity has this message for the Government; the pressure will remain from our Charity’s point of view, and will remain until we have the true extent of Healthcare infections in our hospitals revealed and until we have in place a system that brings infection down to the level of the best of our Scandinavian partners.

The Prime Minister said at the last Labour Party conference that “He stood for a Britain where public services exist for the patient, and to make sure every hospital is clean and safe following best practice around the world” Twelve months on those words ring hollow in our minds as we have over 20 hospitals who have not improved their MRSA infection rates, and all we have from those charged with ensuring the patients safety from Healthcare Infections is rhetoric and spin.

Derek Butler

Chair

MRSA Action UK

07762 741114

http://mrsaactionuk.net