Link: Overcrowding in hospitals ‘is behind the high rates of MRSA’ | Mail Online.
The latest research, from Australian scientists at the University of Queensland, found that overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals are contributing to the spread of MRSA.
Lead researcher Dr Archie Clements said: ‘The drive towards greater efficiency, by reducing the number of hospital beds and increasing patient throughput has led to highly stressed healthcare systems with unwelcome side effects.’
He added that staff shortages and higher workloads meant it was more difficult for nurses and doctors to comply with hygiene rules such as hand-washing.
There was also insufficient space for isolation facilities to reduce the spread of infection, he said. The report compared-MRSA rates across several countries.
In the UK, higher hospital admission rates, together with reduced numbers of beds, have led to 71 per cent of NHS trusts exceeding the Government’s bed occupancy target of 82 per cent, Dr Clements said.
Occupancy rates are a measure of what percentage of a hospital’s beds are in use at any one time.
The scientist added: ‘Overcrowding and understaffing have had a negative effect on patients’ safety and quality of care, evidenced by the flourishing of healthcare-acquired MRSA infections in many countries, despite efforts to control and prevent these infections occurring.’
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I work with a number of specialists in my position as public relations consultant to Cook Medical including Dr. Charles McIntosh chief medical and science technology officer for Cook Group who has kindly provided this comment:
“Whilst this research focuses on problems that high occupancy rates cause, we’re still left with the current situation. A change in the number of available beds could decrease infections rates, but we have to be realistic – there is no ‘one solution’ for healthcare acquired infections (HCAIs), just like there is no ‘one cause’. The focus must always remain on the fact that there are concrete actions to address HCAIs that we can take now. Healthcare professionals must remain vigilant in upholding the preventative measures that are available to us.
Educating the public on ‘best practice’ hygiene and continuing the deep cleaning of hospitals should remain a high priority. In addition, with over 30 percent of the public carrying MRSA it is important to highlight that it isn’t only the healthcare professional’s responsibility to fight HCAIs.
It’s also important that doctors keep in mind a variety of best practice methods. The role that technology can play is important too: innovation in medical devices – for example, the use of minocycline / rifampin impregnated catheters has proven to be highly effective in preventing MRSA infections at catheter insertion points, as well as the ‘new’ highly discussed Steno, short for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.”