20 per cent of A&E patients MRSA checked (From Basildon Recorder)

20 per cent of A&E patients MRSA checked

1:00am Tuesday 8th December 2009

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BASILDON Hospital is currently managing to screen about one in five A&E patients for the superbug MRSA.

At the latest board of directors meeting, the volume of patients coming to the emergency department on a daily basis had led to “difficulties” in checks.

Yet hospital spokeswoman Nicola Lever believes the hospital was on track and beating infection targets.

She said: “In September, more than a fifth of patients admitted as an emergency was screened for MRSA, which we believe is a high number.

“We have been screening all patients coming in for operations for some time.”

Minutes from the latest board of directors meeting revealed there had been one case of MRSA at the hospital this year up to September and 36 cases of C-Diff. The respective targets were six and 44.

The minutes stated: “The board was advised that the screening of emergency patients for MRSA colonisation remain-ed a challenge for the trust.”

It was also revealed patients who were successfully tested and found to have an infection had a letter about it sent to their GP.

Mrs Lever added: “A letter is sent to the patient’s GP, as often the patient can be in our care for as little as four hours.

“If the patient is still in our care when the results come back, then we do give them the result.”

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