Hospital-acquired Infection (Hansard, 10 May 2002)

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died as a result of hospital-acquired infection in(a) the most recent year for which figures are available and (b) each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [54154]

§ Yvette Cooper
There are no centrally held statistics on deaths caused by healthcare acquired infections (HAI), including Methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA infection can take many forms, from trivial skin infection to pneumonia or septicaemia. Often the causative micro-organism is not specified on the death certificate. MRSA does not have a distinct code within the revision of the International Classification of Diseases used for encoding death registration data at the Office for National Statistics.

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of hospital-acquired infection in(a) each of the last five years and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available. [54160]

§ Yvette Cooper
Tackling hospital acquired infection (HAI) underpins the priorities in the NHS plan and a number of initiatives are underway to reduce HAI. However, costs of activity to prevent HAI are impossible to assess because much of this activity is a fundamental part of the work of healthcare staff.

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring is undertaken by his Department of National Health Service trusts' infection control policies; and if he will make a statement. [54116]

§ Yvette Cooper
New standards (controls assurance) on infection control were issued in 1999 (and updated in 2001). We have asked the Commission for Health Improvement to independently review and monitor compliance with the national infection control standard for acute trusts during their routine clinical governance reviews. Monitoring arrangements will be covered in the targeted action plan for healthcare associated infections that will be produced later this year as part of "Getting ahead of the curve" our strategy to combat infectious disease.