Mersey hospitals fail to hit MRSA targets

Nov 12 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

MERSEYSIDE’S largest hospitals are failing to meet government targets for reducing MRSA – with some recording twice as many cases as ministers expected them to.

Regional health figures seen by the Liverpool Daily Post are in stark contrast to the Government’s positive announcements on MRSA reductions. Hospitals in the region are now reassessing their strategies towards tackling the potentially killer bug, with Conservatives in the region blaming bed cuts for the new problems.

Figures circulated among senior figures at the North West Strategic Health Authority reveal:

Aintree Hospital recorded 86% of the total amount of MRSA cases expected in 12 months in just three months;

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen NHS Trust recorded 68% of its annual total in just three months;

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is currently 233% above its target for the first three months of the 07/08 financial year and has already recorded enough MRSA cases to exceed its annual expected level;

Wirral Hospitals NHS Trust has already recorded half of its expected MRSA cases for the year, again in just three months;

The figures are for the late spring and early summer, and therefore do not take account for the time when MRSA cases are likely to rise, the winter.

The trusts have now been ordered to produce monthly updates on how they are tackling MRSA, which must be sent to both the SHA and local primary care trusts.

A spokesman for NHS North West said: “Performance is variable across the SHA and 18 of the 29 Hospital trusts in the region are currently not achieving their targets for reduction.

“Effective trust and PCT leadership are essential to take forward a zero tolerance approach and ensure that tried-and-tested measures are fully implemented quickly and extended into the community.

“The SHA and an improvement team have been undertaking visits to trusts to discuss performance.”

The latest figures come just weeks after half-yearly figures showed a reduction in the number of cases of MRSA being contracted in wards, but the new target figures show that hospital trusts will miss government pledges to massively slash MRSA cases by next year.

Anna Walker, from the Healthcare Commission, said: “We recognise that patients are genuinely frightened of catching a superbug in hospital. Although most patients receive safe and effective care, the risk of suffering an infection is higher than it should be.

“I want to reassure patients that improving infection control is at the very top of our agenda.”

Diane Wake, director of Infection Prevention and Control (Acting), at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals Trust, said: “The MRSA target of 35 will be exceeded but there is confidence that the Trust can demonstrate under scrutiny sustainable improvement.”

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital also stressed that MRSA levels were falling and that its hospitals had some of the lowest rates in the country.

Geraldine Boocock, director of infection control said, “We have reinforced the message that it is everyone’s responsibility to help prevent the spread of infection.

“We have had to report figures for MRSA for six years now and for 3½ years for C.diff, and I believe the fact that we have had consistently low numbers over this time is testament to the hard work of our staff and the co-operation of our visitors.

“We believe the new measures that we have recently introduced, such as the microfibre cleaning cloths, the new gel stations that are being put up by the wards and the additional isolation rooms that will soon be open will help us to maintain our good record on all healthcare associated infections.”

Both the Clatterbridge Centre in Wirral and Liverpool Womens’ Hospital were reported as not having recorded a single case of MRSA in the first three months of the financial year.

But the Women’s was last week forced to admit that four babies in its premature baby unit had been found to be carrying the bug.

St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust, which was named as one of the trusts to be most over its targets last year, has seen a massive improvement since government assistance was offered to tackle MRSA. North Cheshire recorded identical figures.

Both were running 25% below the number of cases the Government expected it to deal with in the first three months of the year. Cheshire Conservative MP Stephen O’Brien, a shadow health minister, said: “Labour ministers are failing to face up to their responsibilities and the dangers MRSA pose to the safety of patients in hospital. Likewise, I am very concerned that our hardworking NHS professionals and staff are not getting the support they need.

“Lots of promises have been made to massively reduce MRSA levels, and those targets aren’t being met. That suggests the support required just isn’t there for staff.

“Savage bed cuts over the past two years have allowed deaths from MRSA to grow to an appalling level. Bed cuts have meant that hospital managers have been terrified by the prospect of closing an infected hospital ward because there are no spare beds to move their patients to.”

OPINION: PAGE 10

davidhiggerson