§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many outbreaks of MRSA there have been in each of the last five years for which figures are available in(a) Greater London and (b) Enfield and Haringey Health Authority; how many wards were closed as a result and what the average length of closure was; and if he will make a statement. [127841]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) compiles aggregate data on numbers of incidents of MRSA (three or more patients infected or colonised by the same strain of MRSA in a month) that are reported voluntary by NHS Trusts.
Data are available by health service region. The health regions that include Greater London have changed twice in the past five years. Data on MRSA incidents in the Thames regions (1995–98) and London and South East regions (1999) are summarised in the table.
MRSA incidents, South East England 1995–99 Region 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 North East Thames 266 245 1158 — — North West Thames 300 294 1141 — — South East Thames 248 235 1120 — — South West Thames 129 186 193 — — North Thames — — 2245 289 — South Thames — — 2172 220 — London — — — — 290 South-East — — — — 170 Total 943 960 929 509 460 1 Data from January to June 1997 2 Data from July to December 1997 The PHLS does not collect data for individual health authorities.