§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is(a) the level in the last 12 months and (b) the trend of the incidence of MRSA; what the average incidence per trust area has been in the last five years; which six trust areas have the highest and at what level of incidence; what action is being taken to tackle MRSA (i) in the above average trusts and (ii) generally; and if he will make a statement. [18078]
§ Mr. HuttonInformation is not available in the format requested.
183WThe tables give aggregate data on trends and numbers of incidents of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) voluntarily submitted by national health service trusts for specialist microbiological tests since 1995. These data are currently available on a regional basis only. Data on staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias (blood infections) showing the proportion resistant to methicillin in England and Wales are published quarterly by the Public Health Laboratory Service in the Communicable Disease Report. Copies are available in the Library.
More comprehensive information about bacteraemias, including MRSA, has been collected from all acute trusts since 1 April 2001 and this will be published showing individual trust data from 1 April 2002.
Instructions to the NHS have been issued to ensure that hospital acquired infection is being tackled throughout the organisation. All acute trusts are required to adhere to national standards for infection control and to have specialist infection control teams whose primary responsibility is for all aspects of surveillance, prevention and control of hospital infection including MRSA.
Evidence based, multi-professional guidelines on the general principles for preventing hospital acquired infection were developed with the support of the Department and were published in January this year.
Incidents of MRSA between 1995–2000 1995 1996 1997 1998 Anglia and Oxford 142 237 297 223 North Thames 566 539 544 289 North West 65 176 259 215 Northern and Yorkshire 90 150 224 202 South and West 80 206 254 101 South Thames 377 421 385 220 Trent 52 99 123 109 West Midlands 128 121 102 69 Wales 116 158 176 169 Total 1,616 2,107 2,364 1,597
1999 2000 Eastern 80 60 London 290 170 Northern and Yorkshire 170 70 North West 180 90 South East 170 100 South West 40 10 Trent 100 30 West Midlands 30 50 Wales 130 40 Total 1,190 620 Notes:
For 1995 and 1996 and the first half of 1997 data have been amalgamated to the approximate boundaries of the new regional office areas. This allows for comparison with subsequent years.
An incident is three or more patients infected or colonised by the same strain of MRSA in the same month from the same hospital.
The criteria for submission of isolates of MRSA (and other isolates of staphylococcus aureus) to the PHLS for specialist tests have been revised twice since 1996 (in January 1998 and in January 2000).
These revised criteria have led to a fall in the number of incidents of MRSA that were reported to the PHLS.
184W