24 June 2005
A 'fog of ignorance' surrounds the extent of infections acquired in hospitals, the Public Accounts Committee has said.
PAC chair Conservative MP Edward Leigh, launched its report on progress in combating these diseases on June 23. The committee last looked at the issue in 2000, since when 'there has been little serious and effective action', Leigh said.
'It is astonishing that poor ward cleanliness, lax hand-washing practices, a shortage of isolation facilities and high bed occupancy rates are still plaguing NHS hospitals.'
Leigh complained that there was no national mandatory reporting scheme for these infections, with the exception of that for MRSA bloodstream. He said the widely cited figure of 5,000 annual deaths from hospital infections was no more than a 'rough and ready' estimate.
Figures released on June 23 by health minister Jane Kennedy showed MRSA infections had reached the lowest annual rate, recorded at 3,688 in the six months to March, compared with 3,940 in the same period a year earlier.
'These figures show that the NHS has continued the good work with some hospitals,' Kennedy said. 'But this progress must happen throughout the service.'
Spot checks ordered by the Healthcare Commission this week in both NHS and independent hospitals will focus on cleanliness and not specifically on infections such as MRSA.
PFjun2005
