N Ireland mandates high risk MRSA screening

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New best practice guidance on MRSA screening is an important step in the drive to reduce infections, Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey said today. The guidance, from Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride, requires Trusts to identify those groups most at risk of MRSA infection and implement a screening policy based on those assessments. The Best Practice Guidance on Screening for MRSA Colonisation in hospitals will help standardise approaches for vulnerable patients, and Trusts will undertake a number of key actions. These include: pre-operative MRSA screening for patients in orthopaedics, cardio-thoracic surgery, and neurosurgery; assessing the feasibility of designating relevant surgical wards, especially orthopaedic wards, as ‘MRSA-free’ zones; screening all patients admitted to critical care on admission and at weekly intervals if their stay is prolonged; and screening all patients on renal dialysis on admission to the programme and then at regular intervals, determined by local practice. The Minister said: “Lowering the rates of MRSA infections is a priority and I have set a target of a 10% reduction in this Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI) by March 2009.