NURSE HIT Mark BY MRSA SUES NHS; Mark catches bug in 'dirtiest' hospital ward.

Byline: MARION SCOTT

A NURSE is making legal history by suing the NHS after contracting MRSA in the hospital where he worked.

Mark Thompson, 45, from Glasgow, is launching a pounds 50,000 claim against Greater Glasgow &Clyde NHS.

He claims his health has been destroyed after being infected while working at the city''s Victoria Infirmary three years ago.

Mark said the working environment in his medical ward was dirty and little attention was paid to patient hygiene.

He became infected after grazing his shin while moving beds around the ward and remained off sick for a year.

The MRSA infection "ate away" a quarter of an inch of flesh from his right shin.

He said: "The ward I worked on, 17, wasn't particularly clean.

"There were also patients who had abused drink or drugs and sometimes their personal cleanliness wasn''t a priority.

"While I was in the Victoria Infirmary being treated for the infection, a cleaner from ward 17 stopped by to see me and told me it was the dirtiest in the whole hospital.

"The graze got infected and tested positive for MRSA.

"I had four flare-ups and also developed the very similar and painful infection cellulitis because my skin and system had been compromised.

"In the end, I was hospitalised twice and my health has completely broken down.

"I was forced to spend so much off, almost a year, my contract was terminated.

"Because my system has been so badly compromised with MRSA, I'll probably never be able to work in a hospital or nursing home again. There must be thousands out there suffering the same risks."

In a report prepared for the legal action, infection expert Professor Hugh Pennington said: "On the balance of probabilities, the source was a hospital as it is much more common there than in the community."

Last year, Mark's lawyer Cameron Fyfe launched the first MRSA test case to be heard in a Scottish court.

The case involves great-gran Elizabeth Miller, 72, of Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, who contracted MRSA while recovering from a heart op at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2001.

She was given the go-ahead to proceed in the Court of Session last summer and the landmark case is due to start in next month.

Irenee O'Neill of the Independent Federation of Nurses said: "We don''t believe there's nearly enough screening."

An NHS Glasgow spokeswoman said: "It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further on the circumstances of his departure from the NHS."

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CAPTION(S):

Legal action: Mark Thompson blames hospital for infection Expert: Professor Hugh Pennington Infection: G l a s g o w 's Victoria Infirmary where nurse Mark worked