Link: News.
Mr Howard whose mother-in-law died of the disease, thought the true extent of MRSA in the health service could be higher than the official figure. "We know that people die and the cause of death is often vague and ambiguous," he said. "I think the figures may not be reflecting the true extent of MRSA." Mr Howard, quoting earlier figures by the National Audit Office, said 5,000 died each year from MRSA and other infections picked up in hospitals.
He added: "No other country has seen the superbug infection take over its hospitals in the same way we have in Britain."
He accused Tony Blair of being personally responsible by imposing health targets that prevented matrons from closing infected wards. "Mr Blair’s obsession with targets has created a culture in which the superbug thrives," he said. "It is a fact that doctors and nurses are prevented from closing wards they know to be infected with the superbug because of Mr Blair’s targets."
Tony Field, chairman of the patient group MRSA Support, said the health authorities "still haven’t got to grips with it". He added: "I would expect the true figure to be much more than 955." Karen Jennings of the NHS union, Unison, said: "It cannot be a coincidence that, just as the number of cases of MRSA have gone up, so the number of cleaners employed in the NHS has gone down."
The Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said the figures were "only the tip of the iceberg". Chief Nursing Officer Chris Beasley said "Improving reporting of MRSA will help us identify avoidable factors and learn useful lessons."
Last night, Mr Howard’s allegations were rejected by allies of Mr Reid, who said the Royal College of Nursing had said closing a ward and dispersing the patients could spread the disease. "Matrons do have the power they need," said a source close to Mr Reid. "This is a good sound bite for the Tories, but it is a lousy policy."
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I find it bizarre that we can train doctors to perform the most intricate and complex of operations but are unable to organise a proper cleaning rota.
Is there actually any point in training medical staff to perform such operations if they do not have the support from other areas – like basic cleaning, to ensure their work is not wasted?
Even the new figures are likely not to be accurate, I believe we were told that James had MRSA only because I asked the question directly before he was tested but that had it been perceived that we were unaware, or likely to be placated by another diagnosis, that information may not have been divulged. How many other people have suffered an ‘infection’ with no name?
However, the Sun are recommending ten ways to avoid MRSA, the first of which is:
Clean your bed, plastic mattress cover and bedside locker with alcohol-free wipes on first day in hospital.
REALISTIC??
We have the scenario of a sick and vulnerable patient being admitted to hospital but, in order to ensure that the bed into which they get is clean, they have to clean it themselves. We don’t know why the previous patient was in hospital, or whether they died in that bed and, if so, from what cause? Maybe it was MRSA, which has not been reported and MRSA infection is lurking on that bed.
It is being suggested and reported that this is one of ten simple steps to reduce the risk. Yes, we all believe that it is a simple step which would reduce the risk but given that the premises are government, the staff are government and the policies are government, I believe the responsibility to clean the bed prior to patient admission falls to the government also, rather than the patient. The patient’s part in the arrangement has already taken place through the PAYE system.
I cannot believe that the newspapers are not decrying this kind of advice as outrageous or why the Conservatives and LibDems are not making more purchase from it. Why are Labour standing meekly by and allowing commercial enterprises to make money from the sale of cleaning kits, purchased expressly with the intent of cleaning an NHS hospital prior to admission by an NHS patient?