Let us keep you informed via our e mail news update. Click here for more information. Check the latest news now at our headline page. Discuss MRSA using the comments link at foot of stories). Discover our MRSA Watch book of the month - Visit our bookstore. We have 2,800+ stories - see list below or categories in side columns.
Link: icSurreyOnline
A HEART patient has sprung to the defence of East Surrey Hospital after it received further criticism of attempts to halt the spread of MRSA. Steve Brooks, 60, who has just been through major heart surgery, said that wards were "spotless" and praised staff for their attitude towards cleanliness. His comments come just a week after the hospital's hygiene practices were roundly blamed by another patient after she contracted MRSA. Mr Brooks left the hospital two weeks ago after undergoing three cardioversions - when his heart was stopped and then restarted with a defibrillator - to correct an irregular heart beat rhythm. Mr Brooks was tested for MRSA as standard hospital procedure and had no complaints about the levels of hygiene in the hospital.
Link: icSurreyOnline
PREVENTING the spread of infection is high on the list of priorities in the refurbishment of Caterham Dene Hospital. The £454,000 revamp which, started on Monday, was designed with infection control in mind. Materials have been specially chosen to help prevent infections, such as MRSA, spreading at the hospital in Church Road. In March the Mirror reported the hospital had been criticised in a patients' group report for the state of some of its facilities. East Surrey Patient and Public Involvement Forum pointed to mouldy, dirty walls, unfixed toilets and only one cleaner for the ward and physiotherapy area.
Link Sentinel
Teenager Callum Capel was described by his family as a joker who would give up his last penny to help someone else. For years Callum, of Landseer Place, Chesterton, was considered stupid and clumsy as a result of an undiagnosed brain tumour. The tumour was discovered not long after he turned 16. Callum's family are now demanding answers from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. The youngster died in January 2004 after contracting superbug MRSA following a biospy and lapsing into a coma.
Link: Lancashire Evening Telegraph
EAST Lancashire's hospital authority has recorded its lowest number of MRSA cases since records began. The superbug struck 54 patients being cared for by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust in the 2005/06 financial year. This is compared to 69, 63, 66 and 57 during previous years. But the final figure was still short of a "challenging" target of 50 cases set by hospital chiefs.
Link: This Is Local London
The chairman of a patient groups claims "virtually no progress" has been made in improving cleanliness levels at Mayday hospital. A statutory annual report from Mayday Hospital patient and public involvement said they have concerns about cleanliness at the hospital, in London Road, Thornton Heath. Representatives made unannounced visits to Mayday before compiling their report. Their concerns included: l the consummation of food by visitors around patients beds l the problem of MRSA l taking more of a pro-active approach to encouraging staff and visitors to wash their hands before and after making contact with patients l the number of visitors allowed round a bed at one time l how members of staff walk freely around the hospital in their work overalls after coming in contact with patients.
TWO families have hit out at East Surrey Hospital after a baby and a mother contracted MRSA in separate cases. James and Joanna Selby, of Darenth Way, Horley, were shocked when one of their newborn twins became infected. And Sarah Brooks, who contracted it after giving birth to her fifth child, says she received "no information" about her condition. Mrs Selby had twins George and Robin six weeks prematurely at the hospital on December 21. Mrs Selby, 27, told the Surrey Mirror that George caught an eye infection at the hospital and the results of a swab showed he had MRSA.
Link: Barnsley News
Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported 57 cases of MRSA during the six months up to September last year, compared to 52 in the six months before. Rotherham General Hospitals NHS Trust saw the number of reported infections go up from two to nine during the same period, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust saw a rise from five to 10, and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust saw a rise from 13 to 15 cases. At present there is no vaccine available, and the bug is difficult to stop, as it is carried in the noses of about a quarter of the human population at any one time. But research carried out by Sheffield University's Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology identified more than 100 proteins made by the bug during human infection. Research indicated non-carriers of the infectious agent have a potential natural immunity against some of the proteins - meaning scientists could develop possible immunisation against carrying the bug in the nose.
Link: Staff Slam
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Trust had one of the highest scores in the country for staff claiming handwashing materials were not adequately provided. But a spokeswoman for the hospital said the trust welcomed the publication of the staff survey, which showed the trust had an "extremely loyal and stable workforce." "We compare very favourably with similar trusts against key human resources indicators - for example turnover, vacancy levels and sickness," she added. Almost three quarters of staff said they were able to take advantage of flexible working, 90 per cent worked in a team and around half said they worked in a structured environment, she said. She also said the trust had worked hard to reduce the MRSA superbug infection rates by 35 per cent last year by using 15,000 bottles of alcohol gel at ward entrances and by beds. She said: "It is important to note that the survey included a cross section of staff including 110 administrative and clerical staff most of whom would not require access to alcohol gels."
Link: Mrsa infection rates
Mrsa infection rates have barely fallen in Leicester's hospitals this year, according to new figures. Hospital bosses say this is only because they dropped so much the year before - and are still aiming for a 50 per cent decrease by April 2008. By the end of this month, it is predicted there will have been 105 cases of the superbug in Leicester Royal Infirmary, General and Glenfield Hospital since last April. In the previous year, there were 107. Last August was the worst month, with 14 infections, double the number expected. Problems with hand-washing facilities and communication with patients and families have been blamed. A campaign was launched on Monday which reminds staff and patients of the importance of cleanliness.
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains endemic in many UK hospitals. Specific guidelines for control and prevention are justified because MRSA causes serious illness and results in significant additional healthcare costs. Guidelines were drafted by a multi-disciplinary group and these have been finalised following extensive consultation. The recommendations have been graded according to the strength of evidence. Surveillance of MRSA should be undertaken in a systematic way and should be fed back routinely to healthcare staff. The inappropriate or unnecessary use of antibiotics should be avoided, and this will also reduce the likelihood of the emergence and spread of strains with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides, i.e. vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus/glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus (VISA/GISA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Screening for MRSA carriage in selected patients and clinical areas should be performed according to locally agreed criteria based upon assessment of the risks and consequences of transmission and infection. Nasal and skin decolonization should be considered in certain categories of patients. The general principles of infection control should be adopted for patients with MRSA, including patient isolation and the appropriate cleaning and decontamination of clinical areas. Inadequate staffing, especially amongst nurses, contributes to the increased prevalence of MRSA. Laboratories should notify the relevant national authorities if VISA/GISA or VRSA isolates are identified.
Link: Plans
Plans are being put in place to reduce the number of patients who contract MRSA in Lincolnshire's hospitals. Government targets for MRSA dictate there should be a maximum of 68 cases of the infection in hospitals in Lincoln, Boston, Louth and Grantham this year. Between last April and December, the first three quarters of the financial year, there were 60 cases of the infection in the hospitals. Of these, 40 were acquired in hospital and 20 were identified as being carried by the patient when they were admitted. Work is now being done to ensure no more patients contract the infection before the end of the year to help hospitals meet the targets. Plans include transferring all hospital housekeeping services to the ward sisters and reducing visiting hours.
Link: News
A FORMER Preston councillor is recovering at home after contracting the superbug MRSA. Ray Johnson, 61, of Ribbleton Avenue, Preston, caught the virus at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He lost two stone in weight and contracted a string of other ailments on top of the potentially life-threatening bug. Mr Johnson, a former member of the Preston Conservative Association, went into Royal Preston Hospital on December 17 for a routine procedure to repair a collapsed lung. He was transferred to Blackpool a week later where he underwent keyhole surgery. Within days, his health deteriorated and the MRSA bug was diagnosed. Doctors believe he caught it through a surgical wound. He suffered pneumonia in his other lung, caught other viruses which caused vomiting and diarrhoea and got infections in his mouth. On March 8, after nearly three months in hospital, the father-of-two was given the all clear and allowed to go home.
Link: icSurreyOnline - MRSA hits 300 patients in hospital.
A SURREY Mirror investigation has found a staggering 302 patients contracted the potentially fatal superbug Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) at East Surrey Hospital in the past 12 months. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Mirror has learned that more than 300 patients caught the disease at the hospital, while a further 357 arrived at the hospital with the disease over the same time period. The hospital in Canada Road, Redhill, failed to explain why there were so many cases at the hospital and address the concerns of patients, but said it does take infection control "very seriously". A spokesman for the hospital said an MRSA working group has been formed to help reduce the number of cases and said it was also up to the community to help by using alcohol rubs when they visit. The hospital has reduced the number of cases, with 49 fewer from the previous 12 months.
Link: Woking News
AN elderly Woking woman died in St Peter’s Hospital as a result of an MRSA infection that developed after a swab taken three days later than requested revealed the infection. Other factors including myelodysplasia, a disease affecting the bone marrow, and fractures from a fall in the Chertsey hospital, also lead to her death. Joan Irene May Pring, 84, of Horsell Park, who died on August 15 last year, was the widow of Harry Pring, a retired journalist and former editor of the News and Mail’s sister paper the Review. Michael Burgess, coroner for Surrey heard at Woking coroner’s court on Wednesday that Mrs Pring lived alone but regularly visited the hospital for blood transfusions as she suffered from myelodysplasia and anaemia. Her mobility was affected by her low haemoglobin levels which could sometimes cause her to become dizzy and weak. Mrs Pring was admitted to St Peter’s on July 18 for a blood transfusion. At 3.45am she awoke to go to the toilet. She was in the process of having the transfusion and was connected to a drip stand. Healthcare assistant Joel Cubar said: “Mrs Pring was mobile so did not need help when going to the toilet. “On this occasion she was connected to the drip stand, which was stuck in the table beside her bed so I dislodged it. I offered her assistance but she declined it. “The toilet was only a few steps from her bed. I walked in front of her so I could open the toilet door. “I had my back to her and turned around and she had fallen and was on the floor. I shouted for help.” Mrs Pring sustained injuries from the fall, including a fracture to her left wrist and her pelvis. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kevin John Newman said: “On Friday July 22 I was scheduled to operate on the fracture on Mrs Pring’s wrist. “The operation was on Friday as she would have been waiting in a queue of patients. It is quite common for people to wait a week for surgery. I first met Mrs Pring in the anaesthetic room on Friday. “I was planning to put a metal plate into the wrist fracture. I took the temporary plaster off and where the cannula (thin tube) had been inserted, I found a red and infected area in front of the left elbow. I changed my management of this operation because of the infected area. I did not know at the time that it was MRSA. I requested a swab but this was not taken. “I prescribed antibiotics, which were not effective because the bacteria resisted them. “I did not prescribe the antibiotic teicoplanin at the time because this could have created a superbug. MRSA is endemic in most NHS hospitals. We do have strict protocol to monitor MRSA.” Dr Angela Christine Shaw, consultant microbiologist at the hospital, said: “A swab was taken on July 25 and this swab grew MRSA. We confirmed on July 28 it was MRSA. Mrs Pring was put in isolation. On August 12 I suggested another antibiotic.” Mrs Pring died at 6.50am on August 15.
Link: icBerkshire
Mr Northway, of Framewood Road, Wexham, called in the police after, he claims, medical staff tried to give him a certificate with what he alleges is a different cause of death given to him by doctors. When Mr Northway went to the Patients Affairs office at Wexham Park he was presented with a certificate which gave the cause as MRSA /bronchopneumonia. Mr Northway claims he had been told the cause of his father's death was MRSA septicemia. Mr Northway, who owns the Valley Carpets shop in Dedworth Road, Windsor then says he stood for an hour and refused to leave until he was given another certificate. He said: "I said no. I am just not having it. I believe this is a fabrication. I had been told by doctors that my father had septicemia, not bronchopneumonia. I was not going to leave until I had it changed." A doctor eventually produced a second certificate which Mr Northway took to the registrar's office at Farnham Road, Slough. This certificate gave both MRSA septicemia and MRSA bronchopneumonia, with rheumatoid arthritis, atrial fibrillation as cause of death. Mr Northway said: "I was definitely told by doctors my father died from blood poisoning, septicemia. I was also told Rheumatoid Arthritis does not kill anyone."
Link: icBirmingham
A hospital named and shamed for poor hygiene in a television documentary is still failing to take cleanliness seriously, according to its own staff. Almost half of NHS workers at the trust responsible for Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham say managers are not doing enough to promote the importance of hand-washing. Last night hospital managers said every member of staff was informed about the importance of hygiene and they were "shocked" by the finding.
Link: News & Star.
CUMBRIA’s success at keeping MRSA in our hospitals to a minimum has to be applauded, but I can’t help thinking that there is an outbreak waiting to happen at the Cumberland Infirmary. We were told not so long ago that hospital bosses want to halve the number of superbug cases by getting visitors to help through good hygiene. A special hand-washing policy was introduced and alcohol gel stations were set up at the entrance to each ward. I have had plenty of recent first hand experience of visitors completely ignoring the alcohol gel stations. There is no point restricting these gel stations to ward entrances. Thousands of people walk through the hospital every week for appointments with specialists and only come across the hygiene stop at the main entrance.
Link: Three more
Three more cases of MRSA infection than allowed by targets have blotted the copybook of the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Officials revealed that in the past 12 months, 111 patients have fallen victim to the potentially fatal superbug - compared to 108 stipulated on a risk register used by Whitehall. The trust is to screen patients as they are admitted to check the spread of the disease. It is one of a string of initiatives which has brought the incidence down from 135 cases two years ago. Others include hand gel dispensers at bedsides, consultants checking every case to find the root cause so lessons can be learned, awareness programmes and nurses concentrating solely on controlling infection. According to Lyn Ford, hospital clinical governance manager, the biggest breakthrough in tackling the threat from MRSA was that all staff were now taking it much more seriously than in the past.
Link: News - Worthing Today:
CASES of MRSA and other hospital infections in Worthing could increase as a result of computer equipment thefts. That's according to Dr Gordon Caldwell, Worthing and Southlands director of medical education, who has hit out at thieves who have broken into the hospital's Postgraduate Medical Centre. The centre, based at Worthing Hospital, has been broken into three times over the past few months, with thousands of pounds worth of IT equipment taken. The most recent break-in took place on Tuesday, March 7, when a large screen and two computers were stolen. Dr Caldwell said: "I believe the people who have done this have no insight into the consequences of their actions. "Break-ins and burglaries leave the owners of the properties feeling threatened and insecure. In addition, the theft of these IT items will have a significant impact on our ability to train doctors and nurses in caring for vulnerable, ill patients." "These thefts could indirectly result in an increase in MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections."
Link: Msra: 1 Mar 2006: Written answers (TheyWorkForYou.com).
Full response at link above
Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South, LDem) Hansard source
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MSRA cases there were in each hospital in (a) Hampshire and (b) out-of-county hospitals which receive significant numbers of patients from Hampshire in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.
Link: (TheyWorkForYou.com).
Click the link above for the full question and response
Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire, Con) Hansard source To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the press release issued by her Department on 6 February 2006, which 20 trusts will receive support to reduce rates of MRSA and hospital-acquired infections during 2006;
Link: Staines Guardian
Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals has pulled the plug on its cleaning contractors just two weeks after a health watchdog revealed MRSA had risen at the trust. The hospital said its decisions to drop Medirest, which has also managed the catering contracts at the hospital since 1999, was part of a drive to improve cleanliness and its fight against the superbug. Facilities General Manager at the Trust Rex Cassidy said the search for a new company was "to improve services for our patients, visitors and staff. It is vital we meet all the recommended guidelines on hospital cleanliness as we continue our fight against bugs such as MRSA, and bringing the cleaning contract in-house will allow us to tighten our control." Latest figures out by the Department of Health on MRSA rates showed the trust had dropped 73 places from 91 to 164 within 12 months leaving it 10 places from the bottom of the national league table. The Statistics show that 29 patients tested positive for MRSA during April and September 2005, compared with 15 for the same period in 2004.
Link: Sutton Guardian
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised to the family of an 85-year-old Sutton woman who found out she had the deadly superbug MRSA when they read her hospital notes. A meeting was held yesterday at St Helier Hospital between hospital staff and the family to discuss the mistake and further care for Ruby Roberts. Mrs Roberts, who was admitted to the Carshalton hospital one month ago, was not told she had caught the infection and her family were not told until February 25 11 days after she first tested positive for the bug. She was also still being cared for on an open ward. A trust spokesman said: "This was the result of a breakdown in communication and it should never have happened.
Link: Heart patient's superbug anger.
A HEART patient is alleging that his bed was switched into an area contaminated by someone suffering from the 'superbug' MRSA, after he underwent major surgery at Whiston Hospital. The horrified patient, who has asked the Star to withhold his name, was especially anxious because he too contracted the potentially deadly infection after a heart bypass operation a decade ago. He fumed: "They didn't even clean the area around this chap's bed before switching me over there. If I hadn't kicked up a fuss then I think they would have just left me. "I told hospital staff I would rather sleep outside than stay on that ward so they just wheeled the other patient into the corridor where all the visitors sit!"
Link: Yorkshire Post Today
HOSPITALS in Sheffield are failing to meet their target for reducing numbers of patients infected by the potentially deadly MRSA bacterium while undergoing treatment for other illnesses. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust, which is responsible for the Northern General and Royal Hallamshire Hospitals, now has to work to an even tougher target in the year ahead and plans to intro-duce even tighter procedures to try to achieve that goal. In the last financial year the trust was expected to cut numbers of MRSA cases acquired in hospitals by 20 per cent, which would have taken the infection rate down from 103 to no more than 82 cases. However, the latest figures available, up to early March, showed that target had been breached with 86 cases recorded and a further two expected in the weeks before the year end. As a result a new target of cutting infection rates by 30 per cent in the current year has been introduced, which will mean there must be no more than an average of five cases a month recorded at any of the trust's sites. Trust bosses accept that further improvements to procedures will be needed to achieve this.
Link: This Is Local London
The daughter of an MRSA patient said she had witnessed a huge difference in the standard of care on her mother's ward which was at the centre of a hospital error last week. As reported in the Sutton Guardian last week, Ann Roll only found out her mother 85-year-old Ruby Roberts had been diagnosed with MRSA when her niece read the hospital notes. But following a meeting at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton last Wednesday, Mrs Roll said she there had been a big improvement on the ward. "We were quite happy with the outcome of the meeting," she said. "We will get a written apology and the difference in the ward and the staffing is completely different. "Mum is still very frail and has a bad chest infection she comes round for so long and then dozes again but the doctors have been ringing me to let me know how she is and what they are doing."
Link: News - Portsmouth Today
Health inspectors have been called in to Portsmouth hospitals following a surge in the number of MRSA 'superbug' infections. There were 14 new cases reported in January, twice the monthly average for the last 10 months. Until now NHS chiefs were confident of hitting government targets to cut the number of cases, but in recent weeks that confidence has evaporated. And in a bid to find out why the number of cases has gone up, Ursula Ward, chief executive of Portsmouth Hospitals Trust, invited in a Department of Health hit squad to analyse the situation. She is waiting for the team's findings, although it believes 'winter pressures' are the main suspect. The nasty stomach virus, which has struck our communities in recent weeks, has forced the closure of wards to new patients.
Link: Staines Guardian
Two patients at Ashford and St Peter's hospitals have this week slammed the poor standards of hygiene. They allegedly witnessed sewage spewing from a sink and a nurse changing a urinal bag without gloves. They have both hit-out at the trust, claiming it needs to clean up its act. Motorcyclist Dave Quincy, 30, of Ashford, said after being admitted to St Peter's Juniper ward last month for an operation to remove a metal plate from his left collarbone, he and his fiance were astounded by what they saw. He said: "A senior nurse was emptying a patient's urinal bag without gloves.
Link: Whitehaven News.
TWO outbreaks of MRSA have occurred at the West Cumberland Hospital but were rapidly contained say health bosses. The North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust is said to be winning the war against the superbug even though cases are on the increase elsewhere. The first small outbreak occurred in the Intensive Care Unit in September/October last year. The second occurred in Overwater Ward in December 2005/January 2006. Also, on Crummock Ward in January this year, a number of patients and staff developed gastro-enteritis symptoms but prompt action in implementing precautions helped with overall control. The Trust says staff abide by rigorous hygiene controls to ensure the superbug does not spread.
Link: Hospital rapped over MRSA gran.
A CORONER has criticised a Manchester hospital where a grandmother contracted MRSA and died. Although John Pollard made it clear the infection did not cause the death of Mavis Dale, 64, he expressed concern at the care she received and the behaviour of nurses and doctors. The inquest heard claims from her family that although they were forced to wear gowns and masks when they went to visit, doctors failed to even wash their hands as they moved between patients.
Link: Bug-fear sparks hospital boycott.
A WIDOW waiting for a vital throat operation is refusing to be treated in Manchester because she fears she will get the MRSA superbug. Freda Geldard, 63, claims her dying husband and four of her friends were diagnosed with the infection after being treated in local hospitals. Now, despite being offered surgery on the NHS in Manchester, she says she will travel to Bradford, West Yorks, to be treated privately because she believes there is less risk. Her decision comes after it was revealed the number of deaths linked to MRSA in the north west has doubled in just four years.
Link: icSurreyOnline
A SHOCKED daughter has told how she discovered her mother had MRSA - when her niece read her hospital notes. Ruby Roberts, 85, went into St Helier Hospital on January 26 suffering from dehydration, expecting to be back home once she had been given new medication for her osteoporosis. But, more than a month later, she is still in hospital after contracting the potentially fatal superbug MRSA - with doctors not bothering to tell her she had the infection. Worried daughter Ann Roll, 64, said: "The doctors knew she had MRSA since February 16, but we didn't find out until February 25 when my niece Carleen read her notes while visiting. "I'm shocked they would not have told us and worried about my mum because she's really not well at the moment."
Link: RedOrbit
The new Broadgreen building has been designed to prevent the spread of infections, such as MRSA, and improve security for staff and patients. It will have the latest in medical technology and an ultra- modern germ-free environment to the extent that no member of staff will have to flick a light switch or touch a tap. All lighting is automatic and all taps are pre-set to safe temperatures. Air is also pumped out of the unit at a rapid rate, to ensure germ-laden air is replaced with clean air as fast as possible.
Link: HEN News
A WOMAN claims she only learnt her father had caught the deadly MRSA bug at Chase Farm Hospital when a nurse attaching a drip to his arm nonchalantly mentioned it. Jeanette Hatt, 37, from Cheshunt, said she was "disgusted" by the episode. She says her father, 76-year-old Alfred Hatt, also from the town, contracted the deadly infection after being admitted to the Enfield hospital on January 2 with a head injury he suffered in a fall. Amateur genealogist Mr Hatt, who was a practising Mormon, was making a slow recovery when his health declined rapidly over two or three days, leading to his death on January 21. "He was sweating, but he was cold. You couldn't hold a conversation with him," said his daughter. "His character changed completely. It was almost as if the MRSA took over his whole body. "It was obvious that something was wrong, but I didn't know what." Blood tests later confirmed Mr Hatt had MRSA (multiply resistant staphylococcus aureus), but antibiotics used to combat the infection failed to help. His major organs shut down and, eventually, he suffered acute renal failure. "I think something has gone wrong because if the processes set in place were carried out correctly, then my father wouldn't have caught MRSA," said Ms Hatt.
Link: News Shopper
FIGURES have revealed a hospital is making improvements in tackling MRSA. Between April and September last year, Queen Elizabeth Hospital had just 11 recorded cases of the superbug, compared to 27 cases in the previous six months. This means the hospital, in Stadium Road, Woolwich, is the third best in London for keeping MRSA at bay. Last year the hospital introduced its Cleanyourhands campaign, which encourages all staff and visitors to wash their hands before and after seeing a patient. Hospital chief executive John Pelly said: "The gradual reduction in cases shows this initiative is starting to work."
Link: Croydon Guardian
Chase Farm Hospital has reduced its superbug infections by a third, the latest figures reveal. The statistics show a total of 39 MRSA infections at the two hospital sites between April and September last year. That figure compares to 60 incidents during the same period the previous year. Director of nursing and infection control, Juliet Beal, said: "We have made excellent and sustained progress on reducing infection rates, which we will work hard to reduce further and keep down." The trust put its success down to the provision of alcohol gel at the patient's bedsides, better cleaning procedures and wider education.
Link: Surrey Comet
Damning statistics published last week reveal Kingston Hospital has the third worst rate of MRSA in the country. Hannah Summers paid the hospital a visit to find out what they are doing about it. The recently refurbished orthopaedics ward in Kingston Hospital's Esher Wing seems relatively clean and tidy. But then the bacterium resistant to the anti-biotic methicillin, otherwise known as superbug, MRSA, are invisible. In fact Department of Health figures showed Kingston Hospital had the third poorest rate of the bug out of 173 NHS and Foundation Trusts. Although the hospital's chief executive Carole Heatly said she doesn't want to make excuses, the trust does say that the poor result was in part due to external factors outside their control and the way the figures were calculated. But it is still far worse than most hospitals. So what improvements are being made?
Link: Portsmouth and Southsea
MRSA rates in hospitals have fallen sharply after the local NHS spent two years near the bottom of national league tables for infections. In the six months between March and September 2005 there were 40 recorded cases of MRSA infections in the bloodstream of patients being cared for by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, compared with 52 in the same period in 2004. That means for every 4,000 patients spending a night in a hospital bed, an average of one person will get the 'superbug'. A year earlier, that figure was one in every 3,000. Trust bosses have welcomed the signs of improvement, which puts them on track to hit government targets to slash the number of MRSA cases by 20 per cent every year for four years.
Link: Wilmslow Express
AN INQUEST into the death of a 94-year-old Alderley Edge woman, who died from the hospital superbug MRSA, at Macclesfield District and General Hospital, revealed lapses in basic hygiene at the hospital. Gladys Shea, of Holmfield, Carlisle Street, developed Methillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in May 2005 after she was admitted to the hospital for a hip operation. Mrs Shea died peacefully in her sleep on June 5. Her cause of death was listed as Septicaemia and MRSA with hip fracture as a contributory factor. A proud great-grandmother, her son, Nicholas Shea, told an inquest he witnessed lapses in basic nursing care and hygiene at the hospital.
Link: icBirmingham
An infection hit squad is to clear up wards in two Midland hospitals after Ministers admitted the NHS was failing to cut MRSA rates quickly enough. The Department of Health announced it was despatching a specialist team to Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs City Hospital in Birmingham and Sand-well General Hospital in West Bromwich. The latest MRSA figu res revealed the number of cases recorded by the trust had risen. But there was good news for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, once named the dirtiest hospital in the country.
Link: Reported cases
Reported cases of the potentially lethal flesh-eating superbug among patients at Torbay Hospital have fallen slightly according to latest figures. Official health statistics show that incidents of MRSA fell to 15 in the six months to September, 2005, compared to a five-year high of 18 in the previous period (October 2004 to March 2005) - a fall of nearly 17 per cent. The downward trend for South Devon Healthcare Trust put it on target to halve the number of MRSA cases by 2008, but it will have to be maintained.
Link: The Bristol
The Bristol widow of a man struck down with the superbug MRSA at Frenchay Hospital while being treated for cancer has called for more action to be taken against the infection. The call comes the day after the Department of Health released figures showing that Bristol hospitals were failing to beat the superbug. Gill Maw's husband, Ted, was in Frenchay with what would be diagnosed as metastatic pancreatic cancer when he caught the infection. When the cancer was discovered, the MRSA infection had already spread and Mr Maw died only days later, aged 75. Shortly after her husband's death, Mrs Maw, aged 68, had routine surgery on her foot at Southmead Hospital. Doctors also discovered she was suffering with MRSA - although it was not clear where she had caught it from - and she needed three further operations to clear the infection.
Link: This Is Local London
St Helier and Epsom hospitals are winning the fight against the MRSA bacteria, according to new figures released last week. Results for the period between October and December 2005 reveal there were only five reported cases of MRSA at Epsom and St Helier hospitals while in the month of December alone not a single case was recorded. Sharon Chambers, an infection control doctor at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital NHS Trust, said the findings indicated measures to fight MRSA and hospital acquired infections were working. "This confirms a downward trend in the number of cases of MRSA bacteraemia and is the first time we have recorded zero cases during a typical month," she said.
Link: Peterborough Today
A "SEARCH and destroy" policy against superbug MRSA has seen hospitals in the region climb up the national league table. The rates of the potentially fatal infection have dropped at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation Trust's hospitals – Edith Cavell, Peterborough District and Stamford hospitals – placing it joint third in a table of the best-performing hospitals in the country. New figures released by the Department of Health show that just four cases of the bacterial infection were diagnosed between April and September last year in the three hospitals – compared with 69 at the worst performing hospital in Brighton.
Link: icCoventry
A HOSPITAL which issued a certificate linking the death of a Coventry mum to the MRSA superbug revealed today that it was wrong. Their disclosure comes within 24 hours of the Evening Telegraph reporting the tragedy. Lesley Rowan-Browne, of Canley Road, Canley, died a week ago in Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being transferred from Coventry's Walsgrave.
Worth reading on for an insight into the treatment and diagnosis process - see link above
Link: Wilmslow Express
CASES of hospital superbug MRSA remain low in the East Cheshire NHS Trust area - which includes Macclesfield hospital. Latest figures published by the Department of Health show that East Cheshire, the health trust that covers Wilmslow, has maintained low rates of infection. In the period April to September 2005 there were seven reports of of the bug compared with eight between April and September 2004. Alan Wills, medical director, said: "MRSA is present in every hospital in Britain and the number of cases seen at East Cheshire NHS Trust remains low considering the size of the organisation and the population it serves.
Link: icCoventry
STAFF at Nuneaton's George Eliot Hospital say they are winning the latest battle in the war against the superbug MRSA. Good hygiene and providing key staff with portable hand gels are part of the success. Latest figures announced by the Department of Health show only seven reported cases of the bloodstream infection in Nuneaton during a six-month period. This compares with 17 cases in the same April to September period in 2004.
Link: Kingston Guardian
Kingston Hospital has been ranked the third worst in the country for tackling the superbug MRSA. League tables published by the Health Protection Agency show cases rising at the hospital for the period April to September 2005, although the hospital says recent improvements mean they have fallen in the past few months.
Link: ShropshireStar.com
A Shropshire man today accused hospital bosses of covering up the death of his father from the MRSA superbug. Andrew Tracey says he was first told that his father’s death at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital last month was due to pneumonia but claims that when he insisted on being told the truth, staff admitted that MRSA was the real cause. Hospital managers today said they would be happy to investigate the family’s complaint. Mr Tracey, a builder from Bicton Heath, Shrewsbury, is calling on the hospital to own up to having a bigger MRSA problem than the public is led to believe and to also improve its cleaning standards.
Link: Borehamwood Times
The number of patients contracting the potentially lethal MRSA bug at hospitals under Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust dropped by more than a third in six months, latest Government figures revealed this week. The Department of Health figures show that the trust, which serves two-thirds of Hertsmere's residents and was last year named one of the country's worst performers for super-bug infections, reduced its infection rates by 35 per cent between April and September 2005. Last year it reported a total of 39 MRSA infections compared with 60 the year before. Juliet Beal, Barnet and Chase Farm's director of nursing and infection control, said: "The trust has made it a key priority to reduce the level of MRSA in our hospitals and ensure high cleaning standards.
Link: NHS Trust
With the increasing threat of hospital-acquired infections from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it has been planned to send specialized squad teams to major hospital trusts in an attempt to restrict spread of the deadly infection. Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust is one of the three health care trusts that has expressed interest in participation of a Government scheme that would provide tips to combat the Superbug. Nearly 66 cases of MRSA infections have been documented by the trust between 2004 and 2005. The risk of MRSA infection is greater due to the vast area covered by the trust (encloses rural Northumberland, from the river Tyne to Scotland border). The seven cottage hospitals and three district hospitals that cater to the health care needs of nearly 500, 000 people is yet another predisposing factor. A majority of those who avail the trust services are elderly or deprived, a group more susceptible to MRSA infection.
Link: Mrsa Cases Rise
The Royal Free Hospital is the second-worst acute hospital in the country for MRSA infection rates, according to Government figures. The figures, published on Monday by the Department of Health, revealed that, between April and September 2005, the hospital recorded 51 cases of the potentially lethal superbug, 14 more than over the same period in 2004. This relates to an MRSA infection rate of 0.39 cases per 1,000 hospital bed days (the number of days a patient occupies a bed). The figures, which only show cases of the superbug detected in the blood and not all MRSA infections, show that rates tend to be highest in specialist trusts such as the Royal Free. The hospital treats more vulnerable patients transferred from other hospitals where infections might have been originally contracted. A Royal Free spokeswoman said the hospital, in Pond Street, Hampstead, accepted it still had work to do to reduce MRSA infections.
Link: BBC NEWS
An NHS hit squad is in a Merseyside hospital to cut the number of cases of the MRSA bug. The government said Aintree Hospital was among 20 in the in the UK facing a significant challenge in tackling rates of the superbug. Thirty-three patients contracted the infection at the hospital between April and September last year. Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust said it welcomed any help the specialist team could give it. The hit squad was assessing the hospital on Friday after the trust volunteered for help.
Link: icSouthlondon
THE fight is being won against the killer MRSA superbug which has previously plagued St Helier and Epsom Hospitals. Two years ago Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust was condemned for having one of the worst infection rates in the country. But now it has one of the lowest rates nationwide and in December not one single person caught the deadly virus, the first time this has happened in a month since 2002.
Link: Express & Star:
New figures on the rate of MRSA cases at Staffordshire hospitals show there is a slight decrease. Between April and September last year there were 17 cases of the superbug reported to Mid Staffordshire General NHS Trust - down by two on the previous six months. A spokesman for the trust said the fall was due to a range of measures put in place, including the 'Cleanyourhands' campaign.
Link: Rates of MRSA
Rates of MRSA superbug infection fell last year at the city's main hospitals. Managers said better hygiene and staff training had helped to cut the number of cases at Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield General and the Leicester General hospitals. In the six months to September, the hospitals recorded 47 cases of MRSA - 0.14 cases per 1,000 bed days. A spokeswoman for the hospital said it was the lowest recorded rate for the trust.
Link: EDP24
One of Norfolk's hospitals has already hit its target for cases of the killer bug MRSA this year. And an analysis of infected patients showed poor clinical practice was the likely cause of five cases, with "urgent action" needed in four areas. But the James Paget Hospital's chief executive says they have made great strides in tackling MRSA, and have improved dramatically on last year. And he said analysis of how the infections had happened was an important part of improvement. In a letter written to matrons, divisional directors and divisional managers at the end of December, Nick Coveney, director of nursing and patient care, wrote: "We have now had 22 cases of bacteraemia MRSA since the 1st April 2005. Our target is to have no more than 24 cases by the end of March 2006. We cannot sustain the number of cases we had in November (four) and December (four)." Yesterday, he said there had been two cases so far this month, taking the hospital to its target of 24.
Link: Norfolk news
The JPH became a maximum three-star hospital last July - so if foundation status is granted, on either April 1 or July 1, it will become the region's best hospital.
Foundation status allows hospitals to set up a board of governors, which then decides the hospital's own budget and areas of speciality.
This part-autonomy from strategic health authorities and central government is granted only to the country's best performing hospitals and is designed to give staff more freedom to develop better ways of working.
A year ago things were so different. The JPH had lost its third star in the 2004 league tables and its rates of the MRSA virus were among the worst in Britain.
Money was being poured into the new �229m, 989-bed Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, seen as the county's flagship, while the JPH was considered by many a poor relation.
But medical staff in Gorleston, from surgeons to cleaners, have worked hard over the last year to reverse their position.
A major reorganisation of the site, with medical wards being moved to the north and surgical to the south, has cut down on patient transport and has stopped the spread of diseases - in December the JPH reported MRSA rates were now better than target levels.
Link: Bath & Somerset.
Infection experts were appearing before Somerset County councillors yesterday to give an update on their fight against hospital superbugs such as MRSA. The Weston Area NHS Trust and the Bath Royal United Hospital Trust had high rates of MRSA between October 2002 and March 2003. East Somerset NHS Trust peaked at he same time while the Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust peaked from April to September 2004.
The latest figures, from October 2004 to March 2005 show Weston below the average, Bath equal to the average with East Somerset and Taunton slightly above average.
Link: This Is Local London
Ms Grimes added: "I suspect the population still thinks there is a problem at Queen Mary's with MRSA.
"Something we will want to impress on people is we have successfully reduced the MRSA rate.
"The figures for MRSA were three times as high in the last three months of 2004 compared with the last three months of last year."
The health boss believes marketing among hospitals is a potentially "dangerous road" and a precious waste of public money and NHS resources.
Having just spent nine days, from December 21 - December 30, as a patient at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, I would like to place the following observations on record.
START OF PROBLEM: On the evening of Wednesday December 21, 2005, I had my 13th burst abscess, a direct result of the MRSA bug from which I have suffered as a result of major errors at UHW since having an umbilical hernia repair in October, 1998. On December 21 My abdomen erupted like a volcano and blood and pus flowed out of a sinus near the massive hernia which has re-occurred on my abdomen. Dr Rees, one of my GPs from Bishop Road Surgery, came to see me and found that as a result of the infection my sugar level had shot up to 31.5. By the time i left hospital it had stabilised around seven.
A AND E: I remained in A and E for about five hours, being examined by doctors and cared for by nurses. I was then offered a bed in a four-bedded ward. I refused and opted to go home rather than be placed with other patients. The reason for this is that MRSA infected pus was pouring from me and I considered myself a loaded gun, a danger to other patients. (you will note from the memo I sent during my last stay in hospital at Easter, 2005, that the blood which had spilled on the floor of the four-bedded ward had not been cleaned-up for many hours). Around 3am on December 22 I was taken to a single ward on C2.
ACCOMMODATION: The single cubicle where I was to spend nine days in isolation and being barrier nursed had no toilet facilities which meant that as I could not use the communal toilet facilities I had to use a commode and bottles throughout the period of the stay. Using a commode is difficult for me. The massive hernia I have makes it difficult for me to press and with my legs close together, which happens when using a commode, I have difficulty in going to the toilet. Consequently I suffered severe bowel problems and horrendous pain. I was given a strong pain killer which caused more constipation. I was told that there were no cubicles with toilets available in the hospital. There were also no proper ablution facilities, in my cubicle, although I was taken to the main bathroom on one occasion during my stay. My request for a bowl of water to soak my feet was not met for three days.
TREATMENT: The main consultant, whom I only saw once during my stay in hospital, told me that it was a waste of time giving me antibiotics as they would do nothing to clear the infection. A stoma bag was placed on my open sinus to catch the blood and pus which was still pouring from the wound. I was given my daily diabetic tablet Glycercide and pain killers, on request. On the morning I was discharged three doctors saw me and said there was nothing could be done to prevent further burst abscesses and operations on my hernia, gall stones and hiatus hernia were out of the question as the MRSA bug, which is colonised in my abdomen, would spread, putting my life at risk.
CONCERNS: There was no barrier nursing sign on the door of my cubicle for the first five days. From time to time I had to remind nurses to wear gloves. Many of them didn’t wear aprons. I requested to see a charge nurse as I was concerned that my stoma bag, which contained blood and pus, had not been monitored for more than 48 hours. The charge nurse told me there was no need to monitor it and no need to change it. My concern was that the infected blood was swilling over my open wound. The Charge nurse also touched my dressing without wearing gloves. When I protested she said she would wash her hands afterwards. I mentioned the lack of a barrier nursing notice and she replied that such notices didn't mean a thing and were a waste of time.
CONCLUSION; In my view the University Hospital of Wales still has a laid back attitude to MRSA. I am frightened to go into hospital where I have to fight for barrier nursing and where I clash with staff when I express my concerns.
John O'Sullivan, aged 71, has spent 260 days in hospital as a result of MRSA since October, 1998. Has had four operations, 13 burst abscesses and was on a life-support machine clinically dead with MRSA chest infection for 11 days. Have been cared for by district nurses for more than 600 visits.
Link: This is Jersey
JERSEY'S 'aggressive search and destroy' policy to combat MRSA is working, with the Island having one of the lowest incidences of the antibiotic resistant infection in Britain, it has been claimed.
Only four out of 106 English NHS Trusts, which manage the hospitals in their areas, had fewer cases than Jersey on a like-for-like basis.
Figures released by the pathology department at the General Hospital show that three people were found to have an MRSA blood infection in the first ten months of 2005.
Link: This Is Local London
A grieving woman has said she would rather die herself than go back to the hospital where her mother died.
Bridy Peach and her sister Sarah Condron cleaned their mother's hospital room themselves before she caught MRSA and died three days before her 73rd birthday.
Bridy said: "It's filth, absolute filth.
"There were needles under my mum's bed and they were taking blood from her every day as she is diabetic.
"There were bloody bits of cotton wool and discarded needles behind the door."
Her mother, Sheila Condron, of Pullman Gardens, Putney, would have celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary to her husband Michael, 73, last Thursday.
Link: barrow in furness
A SPATE of superbug cases which forced the closure of a ward at Furness General Hospital was not the result of a single infection.
Health chiefs say patients did not catch the potentially-lethal MRSA bacteria while on the ward, but brought it in separately from outside.
Ward 5 was shut down for two weeks in October 2004 when eight patients were discovered to be carrying MRSA.
In total, 20 patients and 12 staff were found to be carrying the infection, which was linked to 955 deaths in England in 2003.
But a report by the Morecambe Bay Hospitals Trust board last month concluded the cases on Ward 5 involved different strains, rather than a single outbreak.
The rise in the number of MRSA cases has been linked to increased hygiene standards in hospitals and a general increased use of antibiotics. Last week the Evening Mail reported the latest MRSA figures for Furness General Hospital.
The hospital reported 544 cases between April 2003 and October 2005, compared with 411 at Lancaster Royal Infirmary and 170 at Westmorland General Hospital at Kendal.
Link: West councillor
This originally had an MRSA headline. The article is technically innacuratte as you will see when you rewad on.
West councillor Phil Awford told yesterday how he is back on the road to recovery after he fought to stop surgeons from amputating his MRSA-riddled leg. Doctors at Cheltenham General Hospital told Mr Awford it would be better to have his infected leg amputated but the 59-year-old Tewkesbury borough councillor was determined it could be saved.
When one consultant suggested an operation he readily agreed and was referred to Oxford's Nuffield Hospital.
He then endured a seven-and-ahalf hour operation but he says he has now been proved right.
Specialists at Nuffield Hospital say the surgery was a success and his leg will recover.
They believe they have identified the kind of bug that has left him unable to walk properly.
They say he has MSSA, a strain of the MRSA superbug, and that it can be beaten.