Hospitals in The Midlands are today rejoicing after Health Protection Agency figures showed that certain hospitals had achieved zero cases of MRSA, with numerous other reporting minimalistic figures.
In the period from 2004 to 2007, hospitals in Wolverhampton reported 209 cases of MRSA, during the last 12 months this has fallen to zero. Hard work by staff and contractors carrying out the hospital cleaning has been cited as the main reason for this reduction.
Comments directly from West Midlands NHS stated: “The number of people contracting MRSA bacteremia infections in the West Midlands is the lowest since statutory monitoring began. This is due to the sustained and significant effort that all the trusts have taken. There have been only 6 of the 23 NHS trust that have had five infections in the past 12 months.
So what is the key to reducing the levels of infection? Since the outbreak of MRSA, hospital cleaning standards have risen dramatically. Focus on hospital steam cleaning, regular bleaching and ensuring staff and visitors regularly wash their hands is key.
Dealing with the virus will not only save lives, but reduce the level of spend too. During 2006-2007, over 3000 fatalities could be linked to Clostridium Difficile, this providing a huge cost to the NHS. By ensuring hospitals are kept clean and bacteria levels reduced, there can be a long term saving for the NHS.