§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for wide variations in MRSA bacteraemia statistics between hospital trusts; and whether the variations are linked to the size of the sample numbers used. [145043]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonGenerally methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia rates will be higher in trusts that care for more vulnerable patients and that undertake more invasive and high-risk specialist care. A high rate does not necessarily mean that these trusts are poor performers in either infection control or other performance measures but indicate a need for further investigation. For example large teaching hospitals may import infections when patients are transferred in for specialist care.
A proportion of bacteraemias in all types of hospital are preventable and the aim is to lower MRSA bacteraemias overall. It is important that all trusts
1132W examine their MRSA bacteraemias to assess how much is preventable and to take appropriate control measures.
Specialty Organisation Cardiology Clinical oncology 1993–94 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority 120 8 1994–95 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority 133 12 1995–96 St. Helens and Knowsley District Health Authority n/a n/a 1996–97 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 103 5 1997–98 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 188 4 1998–99 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 179 2 1999–2000 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 200 5 2000–01 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 125 3 2001–02 St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority 303 5 2002–03 St. Helens PCT 217 4 2002–03 Knowsley PCT 184 3 The mandatory surveillance system includes all bacteraemia reports and not a representative sample. Further information on interpreting this complex dataset is available on the Department of Health website at http://www.doh.gov.uk/cmo/mrsadata/