MRSA (Mersa) Questions

New tunics will cut MRSA

Link: Richmond and Twickenham Times.

Junior doctors at West Middlesex Hospital will be among the first in the UK to wear new blue sleeveless tunics - known as "scrubs" in the United States - in a move to stop the spread of infections like MRSA. The new uniforms, which will replace the traditional long-sleeved white coat, will be standard for the Isleworth hospital's doctors starting in October, making it one of the first hospitals in the country to enforce the measure. Chief executive at West Mid, Tara Donnelly said: "The decision to provide uniforms for our doctors demonstrates the level of our commitment to fighting infection. advertisement "The idea came from our medical staff themselves and we have responded rapidly to this excellent suggestion. We have started with our doctors in training and have provided uniforms, lockers and changing areas and will be evaluating the impact closely." Made of quick-drying, anti-microbial (infection-fighting) fabric which repels bacteria, the new uniforms will be worn for all activities in the wards.

Hospital staff told to cover up

Link: BBC NEWS | England | Derbyshire | Hospital staff told to cover up.

Health staff should not be seen wearing their uniforms in public places such as supermarkets and public houses, unless they are on official business. The trust said the new rules would also reassure the public that infections, such as MRSA, were not being brought into hospitals on staff uniforms. Lynn Hyatt, assistant director of nursing at Derby Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Whether or not infections can be passed on from people wearing uniforms outside of work, it's about public perception.

'Uniform' approach to fight MRSA

Link: 'Uniform' approach to fight MRSA.

Hospitals should fund and launder staff uniforms in order to help prevent the spread of MRSA and other hospital infections, a leading expert has said. Prof Hilary Humphreys of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland told a public meeting in Dublin on healthcare-associated infection that MRSA and other infections can be found in all sorts of places including clothes. He said in he past, hospitals used to provide coats and uniforms for staff and the hospital would launder them. In recent years, however, the policy has been that staff must provide their own uniforms. Prof Humphreys said healthcare institutions should go back to funding the provision and laundering of staff coats and uniforms, as standard clothes-washing procedures can kill bugs.

Silver clothing an MRSA killer

Link: HD - Hospital Development.

Researchers experimenting with the materials and design of hospital clothing have initiated new trials in their quest to develop a simple and economic way of preventing MRSA infection. A common objective of the projects is to ensure MRSA does not contaminate the patient's skin, thus reducing the risk of it entering the bloodstream and causing infection. In a trial run by Barts and The London NHS Trust, 150 patients who have tested positive for carrying MRSA on their skin will be trying out pyjamas and bed linen with cloth containing silver. “Silver is known to be a very efficient agent against infection and also very safe,” said Dr Peter Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at the trust. “It is already being used in a number of medical products such as plasters and even in washing machines, so this is just the next logical step.”

Hospital gown to help combat MRSA

Link: Daily Star: Simply The Best 7 Days A Week.

A hospital gown for patients that helps control the growth of the MRSA superbug is to go on trial. It has an anti-microbial coating, and is designed to have minimal contact between patient and nurse to reduce the spread of the bug, which kills up to 3,000 people a year. The gown was designed by Fatima Ba-Alawi, of DCS Designs, a graduate start-up company from the University of Portsmouth. The trial at University College London Hospital (UCLH) will last for eight weeks and involve 30 patients in the intensive care unit and an operating theatre. Patients and staff will be surveyed to assess the gown's benefits, and laboratory tests will analyse how successful they have been in cutting the number of bugs.

MRSA - Uniform can kill it - Video

Link: BBC News Player.

Click the link above for video on a new uniform that will fight MRSA

Students test MRSA-killer uniform

Link: BBC NEWS

    Student nurses in Kent and Medway are testing a new type of uniform designed to help in the fight against the hospital superbug MRSA. The fabric contains an anti-microbial treatment which "electrocutes" harmful bacteria to stop them spreading. Canterbury Christ Church University believes it is the first in the UK to trial the product, called Permagard.

Ulster to target Uniforms in MRSA fight

Link: Sunday Life.

    Nurses may be ordered to STRIP when they come off duty in hospital wards across Ulster. For uniforms are now being targeted in a bid to slash MRSA rates of infection. A campaign group has warned that medical staff should NEVER wear uniforms outside hospital. And an action plan drawn up by the Department of Health has also highlighted key preventative areas which are being ignored. Tony Field, chairman of MRSA Support, told Sunday Life: "The issue of staff uniforms is serious. I see many nurses outside in shops and on public transport still wearing their uniforms. "This can only contribute to the spread of MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections. "Uniforms worn outside the hospital take infections out, as well as bringing in germs from the street."

Clothes are carrying MRSA

Link: Hopital Infection.

What a shame that not one physician cited in "The Doctor Is In, but the Lab Coat Is Out" [New York, October 9, 2006] seems to know that a health care worker's clothing can transmit dangerous bacteria from patient to patient. The purpose of a white, freshly laundered lab coat is not simply to impart authority to the doctor wearing it, but more importantly, to protect patients from these bacteria. Ties and other garments are conveyor belts for infection. When a doctor leans over patients who have methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on their skin - as some 2%-8% of patients do without knowing it - the doctor's clothing picks up these bacteria. The germ can last for days on fabric. Later, the doctor leans over another patient, depositing the germ and putting the patient at risk of developing a deadly infection. Doctors may think that washing their hands and gloving is enough. But, if they scrub and glove, and then inadvertently touch their contaminated designer suit or tie, they've re-contaminated their hands before ever reaching the patient. The decline of the clean white coat is a sad symbol of the failure of some physicians to practice rigorous hygiene. BETSY McCAUGHEY Chairman Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths New York, N.Y.

Silver Pyjamas To Fight MRSA

Link: This Is Local London

     AN unlikely new weapon in the fight against deadly hospital infections is being tested at Newham University Hospital. Patient pyjamas made with a fabric containing threads of silver are expected to be introduced for 12 months as part of the hospital's attempts to eliminate MRSA. The trial, which is yet to be fully approved, will test the effectiveness of the so-called See it Safe fabric developed by Toray Textiles. The Nottinghamshire-based company claim tests have shown the fabric kills 99.9 per cent of harmful bacteria in under an hour. Consultant microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson, who heads the hospita'ls infection control team, approached Toray to offer the hospital as a site for the trial. Patients with MRSA will be asked for their permission to take part in tests. They will then be randomly allocated either the silver-lined pyjamas or identical bedwear made with standard fabric, and monitored during treatment. They will not know which pyjamas they are wearing.