The National Health Service (NHS, UK) says the number of reported cases of MRSA bloodstream infections fell to 97 in one month, a record low.

According to the HPA (Health Protection Agency), statistic for C. difficile and MRSA for June 2011 were:

  • There were 97 cases of MRSA bloodstream infections, compared to 134 the month before – a 28% drop. A record low since surveillance started in 2001.
  • 25 acute trusts have had no MRSA infections that were acquired in those trusts between June 2010 and June 2011.
  • The number of C. difficile cases dropped from 2,001 to 1,681 – a reduction of 16%. The HPA says this downward trend appears to be continuing.

UK Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley said:

“I have been calling for a zero-tolerance approach to avoidable healthcare associated infections since 2004. Now, just over one year into the coalition government, MRSA bloodstream infections in the NHS are at their lowest level since records began with fewer than 100 infections in a single month for the first time.

What’s more, 25 trusts have been MRSA-free for more than a year, proving that with tough infection control measures we can eradicate avoidable infections from the NHS altogether.

This sustained pattern of falling infections across the health service is good news. However, the variation between the very best in the country and the very worst is still unacceptably high. So while progress has been made, we must do better to shrink this gap and improve standards for all.”

Patients can now see how well hospitals are doing by going to the HPA site. The HPA reports on MRSA and C. difficile data on a weekly bases for each hospital site.

In a communiqué, the NHS wrote:

“Greater transparency of information and data will encourage service providers to continue to reduce infections, leading to better patient outcomes, as well as savings for the NHS.”

Listed below are the 25 acute trusts that have had no trust-apportioned MRSA infection between June 2010 and June 2011:

  • West Suffolk Hospitals
  • Trafford Healthcare
  • The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital
  • The Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals
  • The Rotherham
  • Sherwood Forest Hospitals
  • Sheffield Children’s
  • Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals
  • Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
  • Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases
  • Royal Berkshire
  • Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic & District Hospital
  • North Cumbria University Hospitals
  • Moorfields Eye Hospital
  • Mid Cheshire Hospitals
  • Liverpool Women’s
  • Kettering General Hospital
  • George Eliot Hospital
  • Colchester Hospital University
  • Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology
  • Christie Hospital
  • Burton Hospitals
  • Birmingham Children’s Hospital
  • Basingstoke & North Hampshire
  • Barnsley Hospital

Written by Christian Nordqvist