By Helen Mooney
10 November 2009
The government has ‘taken its eye off the ball’ in helping the NHS to reduce health care-associated infections, according to the Public Accounts Committee.
The committee’s November 10 report, Reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals in England, found that the government had achieved ‘significant reductions’ in MRSA bloodstream and C.difficile infections. But it had not done enough to tackle other HCAIs, which constitute four-fifths of all infections.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: ‘Health care-associated infections cost the NHS more than £1bn per year and can lead to serious disability and in some cases death. It is disappointing that the Department of Health still has not taken on board a number of key recommendations.’
Other infections, such as surgical site and pneumonia, had increased and progress in fighting them was being bedevilled by a lack of potentially life-saving information, he added.
‘The department is refusing to introduce mandatory surveillance of all hospital-acquired infections – as we have recommended twice. If it had, it would now have a better grip on what is going on and be able to reduce the risks of patients getting these infections,’ he said.
The report found that the NHS still did not have the data to show how many patients were dying from the other infections. There had also been limited progress in improving information on, and the understanding of, hospital antibiotic prescribing. Evidence available on other bloodstream infections suggested that antibiotic resistant organisms were increasing.
Health minister Ann Keen said: ‘Over the past five years, we have introduced a clean, safe care strategy for reducing infection, 5,000 modern matrons, a tough new regulator, a new technology programme, deep cleaning and the HCAI improvement programme.
‘These priorities have all been backed by substantial investment and a legal requirement to maintain proper infection control. It's no surprise that we now have cleaner hospitals and significant reductions in MRSA and C.difficile infections brought about by the hard work of NHS staff.’
10 November 2009
The government has ‘taken its eye off the ball’ in helping the NHS to reduce health care-associated infections, according to the Public Accounts Committee.
The committee’s November 10 report, Reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals in England, found that the government had achieved ‘significant reductions’ in MRSA bloodstream and C.difficile infections. But it had not done enough to tackle other HCAIs, which constitute four-fifths of all infections.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: ‘Health care-associated infections cost the NHS more than £1bn per year and can lead to serious disability and in some cases death. It is disappointing that the Department of Health still has not taken on board a number of key recommendations.’
Other infections, such as surgical site and pneumonia, had increased and progress in fighting them was being bedevilled by a lack of potentially life-saving information, he added.
‘The department is refusing to introduce mandatory surveillance of all hospital-acquired infections – as we have recommended twice. If it had, it would now have a better grip on what is going on and be able to reduce the risks of patients getting these infections,’ he said.
The report found that the NHS still did not have the data to show how many patients were dying from the other infections. There had also been limited progress in improving information on, and the understanding of, hospital antibiotic prescribing. Evidence available on other bloodstream infections suggested that antibiotic resistant organisms were increasing.
Health minister Ann Keen said: ‘Over the past five years, we have introduced a clean, safe care strategy for reducing infection, 5,000 modern matrons, a tough new regulator, a new technology programme, deep cleaning and the HCAI improvement programme.
‘These priorities have all been backed by substantial investment and a legal requirement to maintain proper infection control. It's no surprise that we now have cleaner hospitals and significant reductions in MRSA and C.difficile infections brought about by the hard work of NHS staff.’
