§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the effect on London hospitals of the outbreak of the infection of multi-resistant staphylococcus aureus; and what steps are being taken to deal with this problem.
§ Mrs. CurrieMethicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has spread widely throughout hospitals in London and to a lesser extent elsewhere. In 1986, MRSA was reported by 170 hospitals participating in a national survey. A large proportion of reported cases are in North East Thames RHA where a working party has been looking at the problem and further recommendations are now being considered.
The effect of an outbreak on a hospital include the isolation of infected patients; restrictions on the transfer of patients between hospitals; possible restrictions on routine admissions and the swabbing of all staff.
Preventive measures include the maintenace of high standards of hygiene for both patients and staff and the thorough cleaning of infected wards. Infection control nurses have an increasingly vital role to play in the maintenance of hygiene standards and avoidance of cross-infection through effective liaison with all levels of hospital staff, including the organisation of training programmes for health care workers.
A national survey of M RSA is in continual progress. This survey, conducted jointly by the division of hospital infection of the public health laboratory service and the communicable disease surveillance centre, makes its results available to microbiologists allowing them to know whether patients and staff transferred to their hospitals come from areas where M RSA is prevalent.
Guidance on the control of multi-resistant staphylococcus aureus is available. The joint public health laboratory services/DHSS hospital infection working group has produced draft guidance on hospital infection in general. This document is presently out for consultation.
A copy of a fact sheet on MRSA was placed in the Library on 28 April 1987.