§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce infection by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in NHS hospitals. [147873]
§ Mr. DenhamThe recently published NHS Plan implementation programme makes it very clear that, as a core requirement, National Health Service organisations must have effective systems in place to prevent and control hospital acquired infection (HAI), including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
New evidence-based multi-professional guidelines commissioned by the Department for the prevention of HAI, including multi-drug resistant organisms, were published in January 2001 as a supplement to the Journal of Hospital Infection.
§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are taken to test-screen possible carriers of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in NHS hospitals. [147836]
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§ Mr. DenhamThere are different patterns of MRSA incidence throughout the country. Expert opinion is that it is not desirable or practical to screen all patients for MRSA but this is a matter for local determination. Mandatory surveillance of blood stream infections, including those caused by MRSA, is to be introduced from April 2001. This will enable National Health Service trusts more effectively to target interventions at patients most at risk.
§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the incidence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection in NHS hospitals. [147842]
§ Mr. DenhamAggregate data on numbers of incidents of methicillin resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" (MRSA) voluntarily submitted by trusts for specialist microbiological tests since 1996 are given in the tables. These data are routinely 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 of which are available in the Library. More comprehensive information about bacteraemias, including MRSA, will be collected from all acute trusts from 1 April 2001 and data will be published from 1 April 2002.
Incidents of MRSA 1996–2000 Incidents of MRSA 1996 1997 1998 Anglia and Oxford 237 297 223 North Thames 539 544 289 North West 176 259 215 Northern and Yorkshire 150 224 202 South and West 206 254 101 South Thames 421 385 220 Trent 99 123 109 West Midlands 121 102 69 Wales 158 176 169 Total 2,107 2,364 1,597
Incidents of MRSA 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:
1.For 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.
2.An incident is three or more patients infected or colonised by the same strain of MRSA in the same month from the same hospital.
3.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).
4.These revised criteria have led to a fall in the number of incidents of MRSA that were reported to the PHLS and cannot be used as a reliable estimate of the total number of cases of MRSA.
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