Hospital Bug Deaths on the Rise

The number of deaths linked to the hospital bug Clostridium Difficile (CD) has outstripped those due to MRSA, latest figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that between 2001 and 2005 MRSA was mentioned on one in every 500 death certificates in England and Wales. For CD it was one in every 250. This represents a rise in 69% from 2004 to 2005 in the incidence of CD, while in the same period MRSA increased by 39%.

Health Minister Lord Hunt said: "It is a major challenge for the NHS and a top priority for government."

Head of health at Unison, Karen Jennings, said: "These shocking figures show that MRSA and CD have a deadly grip on our NHS. Dirt is not cheap.

"No one wants to be treated in a dirty hospital but sadly the culture of cleaning was sold off at the same time as compulsory competitive tendering was brought in.

"It's time for hospitals to set safe minimum staffing levels for their cleaning services - patients and staff deserve nothing less."

A spokesperson for the Patients Association said: "Our worry is that these figures will continue to rise as other priorities take precedence

"The government promised to make infection control one of its top priorities. Yet its own announcement to further reduce waiting times by 'round the clock operations' will inevitably harm these efforts," she said.

The Health Insurance Magazine: February 2007