Deaths caused by two superbugs soar as health inspectorate accuses UK government

Deaths caused by two superbugs soar as health inspectorate accuses government

Extract:

"The number of deaths caused by two superbugs soared in 2005, raising new concerns over the standard of hygiene at hospitals across the country. According to government statistics, the number of deaths linked to MRSA rose by 39% in 2005 and deaths linked to a second superbug, Clostridium difficile, increased by 69%.

The head of the health inspectorate accused the government yesterday of failing to give enough priority to patient safety while Age Concern accused it of shirking responsibility for cleaning hospitals.

Levin Wheller of the Office for National Statistics said cases of superbugs had increased dramatically since MRSA emerged in the 1990s. C. difficile is now recorded as the cause or a factor in more than twice as many deaths as MRSA: 1,629 people died after contracting MRSA and 3,807 after C. difficile in 2005.

The new figures show that C. difficile-related deaths now outnumber deaths on UK roads. In 2005, 3,201 people were killed in road accidents, a 1% fall on 2004.

Men are twice as likely to contract MRSA as women. Mr Wheller suggested one reason could be personal hygiene; other factors might include the type of operations they are having. The vast majority of deaths were among the over-75s."

See Thousands of hospital staff fail to wash hands correctly

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