Department Of Health Publishes MRSA Report - Link Between Bed Occupancy And Infection 'Weakened', UK

Main Category: MRSA / Drug Resistance
Article Date: 19 Dec 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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A report examining the variation in rates of MRSA between different hospitals between 2001 and 2006 and looking at the factors which have contributed to a 27% fall in the probability that a patient will acquire MRSA since 2001/2, is published by the Department of Health.

The report, 'Hospital organisation, speciality mix and MRSA', shows that, while high bed occupancy and greater use of temporary nursing staff correlated with higher MRSA rates up to 2003/04, in recent years these relationships have weakened and are not statistically significant. This is consistent with the view that Trusts have become better at responding to these challenges.

It suggests that action the Government has taken over the last three years such as the introduction of the MRSA target, the cleanyourhands campaign, intensive support to Trusts facing the biggest challenges and improving the quality and training of temporary staff may have played a role in bringing down MRSA infection rates.

Health minister Ann Keen, said:

"We have given the NHS comprehensive guidance on infection control and this report is consistent with our interventions and support beginning to bear fruit.

"Infections pose a challenge for health services around the world, including the NHS. We continue to reduce rates of infection while more and more patients are treated each year, but I want all hospitals to achieve the standards attained by the best.

"Thorough cleaning, rigorous hand washing and sensible antibiotic prescribing must be maintained at every hospital, every time."

Notes:

1. The report 'Hospital organisation, specialty mix and MRSA' is available on the DH website at http://www.dh.gov.uk.

2. While high bed occupancy and high use of temporary nursing staff correlated with higher MRSA rates in the period 2001/02-2003/04, the report finds that these relationships have all significantly weakened or disappeared by 2004/05-2005/06.

3. Health Protection Agency (HPA) data published on 1 November 2007 showed a 10% fall in cases of MRSA in England from the previous quarter, from 1,447 between January 2007 to March 2007 to 1,303 between April 2007 and June 2007.

4. The cleanyourhands campaign was launched by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) in September 2004 and has been instrumental in raising awareness of, and driving improvements in compliance with, hand hygiene.

5. The Chief Medical Officer's Winning Ways report was launched in December 2003 and required Chief Executives to ensure that infection control teams work with bed managers to optimise bed use, while implementing procedures to minimise the risk of infection.

6. On 21 November Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced detailed regional funding for deep cleaning and confirmed that all NHS hospitals in England will be expected to have carried out a deep clean by March 2008.

http://www.dh.gov.uk

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