§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what studies he has made of the incidence of post-operative infection, with special reference to bone operations and orthopaedic procedures and whether there are any special problems connected with Lewisham Hospital in this respect.
§ Mr. Moyle, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15th May 1978], gave the following answer:
I am not aware of any studies on the incidence of post-operative infection. Trials of two systems of providing ultra-clean air in operating theatres aimed at eliminating infection are being carried out 158W by the Medical Research Council on behalf of my Department in 19 centres.
A survey of post-operative infection at Lewisham Hospital was carried out in 1975 but comparable groups of patients in other hospitals were not examined and it is not, therefore, possible to determine whether the rate of infection revealed by the survey was higher than elsewhere.