Government has 'no idea' on hospital bug victims; Damning report says infections on increase.

Byline: JANE KIRBY 

THE Government has no idea how many people are dying from hospital bugs other than MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C diff) despite evidence they are on the rise, a damning MPs' report said today.

Ministers have chosen to ignore two previous recommendations to monitor all infections linked to healthcare, including avoidable surgical-site infections and pneumonias, said the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

Its chairman, Edward Leigh, praised efforts that have led to a fall in the number of people suffering MRSA and C diff but said there was still no robust data on the extent and risks of at least 80% of bugs linked to hospital care.

The report is the third from the committee on the issue of hospital-associated infections.

Mr Leigh, who is Tory MP for Gainsborough, said: "Healthcareassociated infections cost the NHS more than pounds 1bn per year and can lead to serious disability and in some cases death.

"This is the third time that this Committee has reported on the subject and it is disappointing that the Department of Health still has not taken on board a number of key recommendations.

"There has been progress. The Department has achieved significant reductions in MRSA bloodstream and Clostridium difficile infections, for which it set national targets.

"But, in so doing, it has taken its eye off the ball regarding all other healthcare-associated infections - which actually constitute most by far (four-fifths) of all infections.

"The best available evidence is that other - just as deadly but also avoidable - infections, such as surgical site infections and pneumonias, have increased."

Mr Leigh said progress was being hit by a lack of decent data.

"The Department is refusing to introduce mandatory surveillance of all hospital acquired infections - as we have recommended twice.

"If it had, it would now have a better grip on what is going on and be able to reduce the risks of patients getting these infections."

MPs used the report to renew their calls for an electronic prescribing system to ensure antibiotics are being used effectively.

Prescribing the drugs unnecessarily for common ailments like coughs and colds is leading to a rise in the number of infections resistant to antibiotics.

In 2000, a predecessor Public Accounts Committee said the NHS did not have a grip on the extent and costs of hospital infections and needed robust data.

In 2005, the most recent committee found progress in improving infection prevention and control had been patchy.

Today's report relates to England. There has been a fall in the number of death certificates mentioning MRSA or C diff as a contributory factor in why someone died, figures show.

The number of death certificates mentioning C diff fell by 29% between 2007 and 2008, to 5,931.

Meanwhile, the number mentioning MRSA fell by 23% over the same period, to 1,230.

The number of people infected with MRSA and C diff also fell between April and June 2009.

There were 509 cases of MRSA in England, a 39% drop on the same quarter in 2008.

There were also 6,855 cases of C diff in people aged two and over - a 37% drop on the same quarter in 2008.

John Black, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "This report on hospital acquired infections rightly highlights how we don't have a national picture on incidences such as surgical site infections let alone any strategy to start to assess the risk to patients and begin the task of dealing with them."

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