Milton Keynes Working To Keep MRSA Levels Low, England

Main Category: MRSA / Drug Resistance
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 05 Apr 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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MRSA levels in Milton Keynes are low: the aim is to make them even lower with a new screening programme launched this month for all patients attending hospital for planned surgery*. All non-emergency patients at Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be screened for MRSA before the date they are being admitted to hospital.

The screening programme is part of a Department of Health initiative to further reduce MRSA infections in England. MRSA screening has been carried out for a number of years for patients regarded as being at risk from MRSA. This has been extended to all patients coming to the hospital for elective operations and procedures, which means that for most patients a swab will be taken during a pre-assessment appointment.

MRSA levels in Milton Keynes are very low. The screening will help find anyone who has MRSA on their skin before they come into hospital and make sure they cause no risk to themselves or others.

MRSA is entirely harmless to most healthy people. However, it can become dangerous to patients recovering from an operation if it gets in to the body through a break in the skin, for example through a surgical wound, drip or tube.

The screening is very quick, simple and entirely painless. A swab from your nose will be taken with a cotton bud. Some people may also have their armpit or groin swabbed.

The majority of patients will be screened as part of their outpatient's pre-operative assessment; expectant mothers having an elective Caesarean section will be screened by their community midwife.

About three to six per cent of screens are expected to reveal MRSA. These patients and their GPs will be contacted and the GP will prescribe a five-day course of treatment, involving an antiseptic body wash.

Angie Legate, Assistant Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Milton Keynes Hospital, said: "We already have an active programme for checking patients for MRSA, and thousands of people are already screened every year. This new initative is very important in helping us to keep you safe by identifying and treating MRSA before you have your operation.

"We would like to reassure patients that Milton Keynes Hospital consistently has one of the region's lowest rates of healthcare associated infections including MRSA and C Diff (Clostridium difficile).

"The MRSA screening project is just one of the many measures that the hospital has in place to reduce infections to an absolute minimum. Thorough hand washing and stringent cleaning routines are just two of our main weapons to prevent infections associated with healthcare."

Gillian Prager, Director of Clinical Standards and Engagement at NHS Milton Keynes said: "The MRSA screening programme is a vital part of keeping patients safe in Milton Keynes. I am sure patients will welcome the test and recognise it will help keep MRSA levels low.

"Of course, patients can choose which hospital to have their surgery. Those who choose to have elective surgery at another hospital will also be screened for MRSA."

Note: There are some exclusions from MRSA screening such as day case dental, day case eye surgery and endoscopy patients.

Source
NHS Milton Keynes

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