Superbugs threaten UK hospitals
Published 30 November, 2008, 11:03
Hygiene tests have revealed that nearly all hospitals in the UK are failing to comply with the government’s cleanliness standards. Freelance writer Gabrielle Pickard reports for RT on the superbug crisis hitting Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
A recent investigation into the sanitation of British hospitals undertaken by the Healthcare Commission has uncovered that a shocking number of NHS trusts (pubic sector corporations that provide services to the health system) are breaching the standards set by the government to prevent the spread of superbugs (antibiotic resistant microorganisms).
Although standards of hygiene at hospitals are improving, the risk of contracting potentially life-threatening diseases while having treatment has not reduced. Inspectors warn that only staunchly practiced controls will ensure that infections acquired in hospital will continue to decline.
A total of 51 hospitals underwent unannounced spot checks with only five given a clean bill of health. Most were found guilty of minor violations but were said to have anomalies in their hygiene systems. Anna Walker, the commission’s chief executive said “at nearly all trusts we have found gaps that need closing.”
She added that the results of the checks were “important warning signs to trust boards that there may be weaknesses in their systems.”
More critically, three of the hospitals inspected were found to have serious infringements of the hygiene code and have been issued urgent improvement notices that require immediate action to protect patients.
More than half the hospitals checked were found to be failing to keep all areas clean and well-maintained and one in five was failing to decontaminate instruments and equipment properly.
But perhaps the biggest complaint was that one in eight hospitals did not have satisfactory isolation facilities for infected patients, meaning there was no effective safeguard to prevent the spread of diseases throughout the hospital.
60-year-old Andrew Turnbull recently experienced major hospital misconduct, which resulted in the death of his elderly aunt. Joan Turnbull was admitted to a hospital in Cheltenham due to routine problems she acquired after a fall. Mrs Turnbull died a few days later after contracting MRSA from the inadequate isolation of an already infected patient.
Criticising the failure of the hospital, Mr Turnbull said “an attitude towards hygiene standards other than immaculate is unacceptable and inexcusable”.
He said: “people go to hospital to get well not to die. The government needs to employ tougher strategies that mean hospitals do not slacken in something which should be uncomplicated and straightforward.”
Although the inspections revealed that control efforts appeared to be bringing infection rates down, the commission wants to see conformity with hygiene standards at all times. Ms Walker said,
“It is consistent application of these systems that will ensure infection rates continue to drop. These issues are a top priority for the public. We have been asked by the government to help maintain the concentration on these issues and we intend to do just that.”
Although the battle of the superbugs is not an exclusive burden to British hospitals, a report carried out by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control revealed that Britain is the fifth worse country in Europe for resistance to hospital-acquired infections.
Only Romania, Malta, Cyprus and Portugal had a higher number of superbug cases recorded. Norway had one of the highest levels of clean hospitals in Europe, partly due to the fact that Norwegian law requires all health institutions to put in place programmes for the systematic surveillance of infections.
France and Slovenia were found to have the cleanest hospitals in Europe, with both managing to diminish infections and deaths caused by diseases picked up in hospitals.
France, which has for some time boasted about the excellence of its health service, has reduced the number of MRSA infections by eight per cent in four years.
The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control believes this success is due to “traditional nursing methods, high hygiene standards and making nurses personally responsible for cleanliness”. In fact France has been so thoroughly praised for maintaining extremely hygienic hospitals, countries with dirtier ones may be asked to look at France’s system and act accordingly.
Hospital superbugs are not just a European problem. On the other side of the Atlantic, infections from dirty hospitals are costing the US billions of dollars annually and are causing thousands of unnecessary deaths each year.
Like many of their European counterparts, hospitals in America are criticized for not following simple hygiene strategies, like health professionals not washing their hands between medical interventions.
David B. Nash, chairman of the Department of Health Policy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, says “health professionals should do more to promote hand washing among medical staff and take greater care in donning gowns and other infection-preventing clothing during medical procedures.”
Nash also said that isolating patients when necessary and reducing traffic in and out of operating theatres was essential in the fight against superbugs.
So the UK is not alone in being guilty of seriously jeopardizing the lives of patients by breaching codes and slackening hygiene standards. To avoid any more preventable deaths, like that of Joan Turnbull, hospitals worldwide should follow the example of France and practice comprehensive hygiene controls.
Gabrielle Pickard for RT
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