New cleansing development to help fight superbugs

The Telegraph reports that in "the biggest trial of its kind the newly developed cleansing agent Byotrol has cut levels of MRSA on wards by one third compared with the NHS gold standard bleach."

A development to reduce MRSA significantly must be welcomed since "300,000 patients – one in 12 – contracts an infection in English hospitals every year."

Note: you can boost your immune system by eating healthy meals and avoiding salt and salty food.

Paul Clements disagrees with Sir Richard Branson about the best way to tackle MRSA in hospitals.

Sir Richard Branson's plan to tackle MRSA will come to grief
article in the Telegraph, written by Paul Clements

Extract:

"Unless you ensure everyone who enters a hospital is clear of Staphylococcus aureus, Branson’s plan is all but meaningless.

The cheapest and simplest solution remains good hygiene – by the cleaning staff, nurses and visitors alike. Spread by contact with contaminated skin and unclean surfaces, poor sanitary procedures ensure that MRSA is a menace to the NHS.

Unless both staff and visitors are made to wear plastic gowns when at a patient’s bedside and to rub their hands with alcohol gel before and after a visit – the bacteria will thrive.

Earlier this month, I was back in an A&E ward, sat for six hours with a neighbour who had collapsed in his bathroom. Of the dozen or so staff who came to check up on him, only one used the alcohol rub before or after they had examined him. There was dried blood on the ward floor, next to scraps of unbinned surgical waste.

Rather than taking staff out of the NHS to have them disinfected, Sir Richard might do better to suggest putting in more who know their way around a mop and bucket. Either that, or start a whistleblower’s phoneline."

(Sir Richard Branson accuses politicians of failing over hospital superbugs
article in the Telegraph)

Hospital wards across the country are being filled to potentially dangerous levels, increasing the risk of infections like MRSA, it has been warned.

Hospital superbugs: Full hospitals wards 'increasing MRSA risk'
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Official figures reveal that more than 95 per cent of beds at some hospitals across Britain were filled last year.

The national average, and recommended safe level, is 85 per cent.

Among the highest rates for Primary Care Trusts were at George Eliot Hospital Trust, in Warwickshire, where the bed occupancy rates was 97.8 per cent, and Bath and North East Somerset PCT, where it was 97.1 in the 12 months to April this year.

Experts warn that extra space is needed to deal with outbreaks of infection, such as the Norovirus, and that high levels of occupancy can lead to a rise in superbugs like MRSA."

An NHS chief has apologised 22 times for his hospital's failure to care properly for an 89-year-old war veteran who died of the superbug C. diff

Letter that proves the sorry state of NHS care for elderly
Article in the Sunday Telegraph

Extract:

"In an extraordinary letter of confession, John Rostill, the chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, tells Susan Davies repeatedly that he is sorry for his staff's failure to provide adequate treatment for her father, Vic Jones, who served as a corporal in the Army in the Second World War.

Mr Jones died in May of a C. diff infection, which he had contracted in Worcestershire Royal Hospital after being admitted with pneumonia.

According to Mrs Davies, conditions on the wards were "grim". Her father was left next to a window in blazing sunshine in temperatures of over 80F, causing him to become dehydrated, she said.

Water was placed where he could not reach it, the hospital ran out of his medicine, and staff failed to order probiotic drinks that had been prescribed for him.

"There were faeces on his bandages and on the walls," she said. "Every day there were signs of neglect. I had to constantly complain to get even the most basic care for him.""

This appalling, cruel, negligent treatment and suffering is what we pay our high taxes for!

And even now, some deluded people speak of the NHS as the envy of the world! - Yeah, right!

Hospital acquired infections or medical errors are more likely to cause death than extreme sports like high-altitude mountaineering and bungee-jumping

NHS hospitals more dangerous than bungee-jumping
Article in the Sunday Telegraph

Extract:

"The risks from infection, mistakes over drugs and failings in care mean that nearly one in 100 patients admitted to an NHS hospital will die an avoidable death, compared with one in 1,000 of those taking part in dangerous sports.

The findings define health care as a "hazardous activity" for patients and compare it unfavourably with air travel and the nuclear power industry, both of which carry a one in 100,000 risk.

The research, which was compiled by the NHS National Patient Safety Agency and the health care charity, the Health Foundation, reveals that up to 104,000 patients die each year as a result of poor infection management and basic medical errors."

I'd say this is a gross underestimate of the harm done by hospitals and by doctors.

Claire Rayner has some well-justified criticisms of the NHS and some suggestions to improve it.

NHS at 60: In the end I had to go private
Article in the Sunday Telegraph

Extracts:

"In 1988 she suffered chest pains. Efforts to contact a local doctor at 3am led instead to a locum service, which insisted she find her NHS number before any help could be given. "In the end we gave up and got through the night, but next day we signed up with a private GP," she says.

The chest pains revealed a hole in her diaphragm, while arthritis has since resulted in her having five knee operations and surgery to both shoulders. In 2002, breast cancer led to a double mastectomy. She used an NHS hospital on two occasions and was infected by the superbug MRSA.

"The tissue on my knee suddenly split, and I had to go to Accident and Emergency," she says. "For four hours, I was left in a highly infected room with a totally exposed wound. For at least an hour I could see the doctor sitting gossiping with a colleague.

"When she came over her hair wasn't tied back, then she used the wrong kind of gauze to patch me up. I felt so angry. When I discovered afterwards that I had MRSA I was appalled, but I wasn't all that surprised."

Now, she and her husband, Des, who is 80, avoid the NHS. "I have a list of hospitals with lower infection rates that I would go to if I was desperate, but we avoid it when we can. I'm embarrassed and ashamed to admit it, but I had to put my health first."

Determined to use her public profile as Patients Association president to achieve better services, Mrs Rayner urges the NHS's political masters to learn from the values and standards she saw in the service's early years."

"Now, as the NHS is about to turn 60, Mrs Rayner offers hospitals a three-point prescription to return the service to robust health.

"Firstly I would get rid of the nurses' station on the ward. It is a hiding place for them to hang around gossiping. Secondly, I would get rid of the targets. Third, get rid of all the middle layers of management and all the deceit to meet targets that happens as a result.""

More than a quarter of health trusts in England are failing to meet basic hygiene standards, official figures show today.

NHS trusts fail to meet hygiene standards
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"The Healthcare Commission reports that no improvement has been made on a year ago.

In total, 103 out of 391 trusts admitted they did not achieve the minimum requirements, brought in by the Government to help combat the hospital superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

Patients groups and politicians said that it was "shocking" that one in four still did not meet the standards, despite ministers' pledges to tackle cleanliness.

More than 8,000 deaths were related to MRSA and C. diff. The report shows that 26 per cent of trusts failed to keep facilities clean, did not have adequate infection control or follow guidelines on decontaminating reusable equipment.

Only 40 per cent of trusts claim to have met all the Governments standards, which include patient care and confidentiality as well as hygiene, a slight fall on last year."

Record numbers of patients are dying in hospitals and nursing homes after contracting superbugs, new figures show.

Superbugs MRSA and Clostridium difficile killing record numbers of patients

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"MRSA and Clostridium difficile were linked to more than 8,000 deaths in England and Wales in 2006, up from 5,300 the previous year.

The first ever breakdown of deaths from both infections by location released by the Office for National Statistics shows that the vast majority of patients died from the bugs in hospital.

The deadly infections also killed small numbers of patients in nursing homes and hospices."

"Worst ten hospitals for deaths from superbugs

Number of deaths from MRSA 2002 - 2006

Derriford Hospital, Plymouth 94

Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth 81

Maelor Hospital, Wrexham 79

Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton 77

Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton 75

General Infirmary, Leeds 70

Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge 68

Birmingham Heartlands Hospital 67

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 65

General Hospital, Southampton 64

Number of deaths from C difficile 2002 - 2006

Royal United Hospital, Bath 268

George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton 235

Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry 233

Royal Infirmary, Leicester 203

General Hospital, Kettering 200

Birmingham Heartlands Hospital 177

General Hospital, Leicester 169

Frimley Park Hospital 164

Sunderland Royal Hospital 152

General Hospital, Southampton 149"

Hospitals across the country are helping to fuel the rise of superbugs like MRSA and C Difficile by overprescribing antibiotics.

Hospital antibiotics 'fuelling superbugs'

Extract from the Telegraph:

"GPs are already being urged not to hand out the drugs for coughs and colds but many hospital doctors also overuse the medication, Prof Mark Wilcox, of Leeds University, said.

Prof Wilcox, an expert on the control of hospital acquired infections, will tell a conference on intensive care medicine in London next week that part of the problem is that the health service does not know what antibiotics hospitals prescribe."

The family of a 39-year-old mother has spoken out after she was admitted to hospital with an ear infection, then died after contracting MRSA.

MRSA kills mother in hospital with ear infection

First extract from the Telegraph:

"Shakuntala Pancholi, a civil servant, had developed the infection after routine surgery.

She was admitted to hospital but died from multi-organ failure 16 days later.

An inquest earlier this week ruled that she died of natural causes and yesterday her husband Suresh, 51, said: "She went into hospital with an ear infection, which is not life-threatening and then suddenly she is in a critical condition."

The inquest heard that Mrs Pancholi was admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary in September 2004 suffering from an ear infection caught after an operation to repair a perforated eardrum.

MRSA was detected and she was given antibiotics. After a week she was sent home but her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to Leicester General Hospital, where she died four days later."

Second extract from the Telegraph:

"Last month the Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust was hit by an outbreak of C-Diff only four days after undergoing a £300,000 clean up. At least 26 people were affected and wards were closed.

It emerged that hundreds of trusts are allowing doctors and nurses to treat patients even after they have tested positive for MRSA and other potentially lethal superbugs, with no systems in place to automatically remove staff from wards if they are found to be carrying an infection."

A new superbug, acinetobacter, is causing concern because of its high resistance to antibiotics.

Pandemic fear over resistant superbug

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"Doctors have warned that if a superbug which is known to be even more resistant to antibiotics than clostridium difficile and MRSA takes hold in hospitals, the country could face a pandemic.

The acinetobacter bug is being treated with older antibiotics because newer ones do not work. There are fears that injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have passed the infection on in civilian hospitals.

Prof Matthew Falagas, an expert in hospital-acquired infections, said: "In some cases, we have simply run out of treatments and we could be facing a pandemic with public health implications.""

"There are more than 1,000 reports of acinetobacter infections every year in the UK, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Some strains can cause death through blood poisoning and pneumonia."

You can boost your immune system by cutting out salt and salty food.

Fear of hospital-acquired infections is driving NHS patients abroad for treatment

Superbug fear drives NHS patients abroad

Extract from the Evening Standard:

"Record numbers of Londoners are abandoning the NHS and travelling abroad for medical treatment.

About 22,000 people in the capital went overseas for surgery and dental treatment last year - a rise of nearly a quarter on 2006.

Fear over infection from superbugs is now a major reason for them opting to go private instead of receiving treatment on the NHS.

More than half of surgery patients said they were worried about contracting an infection such as MRSA in a British hospital. This comes a day after the Evening Standard revealed more than nine patients a week are dying from hospital acquired infections.

The findings are published today by research group Treatment Abroad from its international medical tourist survey.

Its report also highlights a growing lack of confidence in the NHS - nearly two thirds opted for overseas operations to avoid NHS waiting lists.

An estimated 100,000 people from Britain travelled abroad for surgery and dental treatment last year, including fertility treatment, knee operations and cosmetic surgery. This compares with 70,000 in 2006."

Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Extract from the Sunday Telegraph:

"Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion.

Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.

Universities and NHS trusts fear many more will refuse to co-operate with new Department of Health guidance, introduced this month, which stipulates that all doctors must be "bare below the elbow".

The measure is deemed necessary to stop the spread of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, which have killed hundreds.

Minutes of a clinical academics' meeting at Liverpool University revealed that female Muslim students at Alder Hey children's hospital had objected to rolling up their sleeves to wear gowns.

Similar concerns have been raised at Leicester University. Minutes from a medical school committee said that "a number of Muslim females had difficulty in complying with the procedures to roll up sleeves to the elbow for appropriate handwashing".

Sheffield University also reported a case of a Muslim medic who refused to "scrub" as this left her forearms exposed.

Documents from Birmingham University reveal that some students would prefer to quit the course rather than expose their arms, and warn that it could leave trusts open to legal action.

Hygiene experts said last night that no exceptions should be made on religious grounds."

Convicted surgeon can return to work. - In my considered and informed opinion, the GMC is not fit for purpose and should be scrapped.

Convicted surgeon can return to work

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"A doctor who went to practise in India after leaving a father to die of an infection has been told he can return to Britain to work.

Amit Misra, 37, was suspended for a year after failing to act when Sean Phillips, 31, fell ill after a routine knee operation at Southampton General Hospital in 2000.

He was convicted of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court in April 2003 and given an 18 month suspended prison sentence.

Despite failing to prove himself in a series of medical assessment tests, the General Medical Council has ruled the trainee surgeon should be allowed to work here again."

"Mr Phillips, from Southampton, was expected to leave the hospital the day after his operation, but caught a bacterial infection and developed toxic shock syndrome. He died after doctors failed to spot the infection or properly examine the blood test results.

Mr Phillips' father, Myles, of Faversham, Kent, said: "The doctors have assessed his performance and have found it lacking. There is no way he should be back on the register.""

You can rarely, if ever, accuse the General Medical Council of putting patient safety first...)o:

M&S £45 pyjamas have silver lining to help stop MRSA

From The Telegraph -

M&S pyjamas' silver lining helps stop MRSA

Extract:

"Silver-laced nightwear has been tested in a handful of hospitals, but M&S has become the first retailer in Britain to stock the pyjamas.

They are only available for men at present and come in three colours - teal, navy and burgundy. A spokesman for M&S said: "They are produced using a fabric which has two per cent silver woven into it. Silver is know for its infection fighting properties and has previously been used by the military.

"The fabric that the pyjamas are made of has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of MRSA by killing bacteria that come into contact with the fabric. Clinical trials are currently ongoing and are three quarters of the way through. The interim results were positive.""

Lose weight and improve your health in many ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

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vulnerable groups

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

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I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

Information about another 'superbug' that may be killing hundreds of hospital patients

New 'superbug' may be killing hundreds

Extracts from Telegraph article:

"Pseudomonas is dangerous because it is especially virulent in intensive care units and has become increasingly resistant to treatment, says Professor Mark Enright, an authority on healthcare-acquired infections.

"Pseudomonas is a nightmare for hospitals - a real struggle," said Prof Enright, of Imperial College, London.

"It is not as common as MRSA or C diff, and not one of the most aggressive pathogens, but Pseudomonas is probably untreatable in a lot of cases.

"It ends up killing some people because it is so resistant to antibiotics."

"Although not officially classed as a superbug, Pseudomonas is usually found in specialist wards and can cause a wide range of illnesses, including meningitis, and can also lead to blindness or the loss of limbs.

It is a serious problem in patients whose immune systems are low, such as those in the late stages of cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV, or suffering from severe burns.

In September, the paediatric intensive care unit at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children was closed for 48 hours after Pseudomonas bacteria were found in five children.

In 2005, an outbreak at Guy's Hospital in London left one woman dead and infected 18 other patients who were receiving treatment in the urological surgery department.

Survivor Alfred Nell, 40, from Luton, believes that he developed blood poisoning after coming into contact with Pseudomonas through a contaminated microscope. He is now planning to sue the hospital for damages."

Lose weight and improve your health in many ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/steroids.html

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/ami.html

vulnerable groups

How to Lose weight!

Children and Obesity

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

Dirty hospitals must clean up, says Gordon Brown

Dirty hospitals must clean up, says Brown - Guardian

Extract:

"A drive to slash the rates of MRSA and other hospital infections is being masterminded by Gordon Brown, who is convinced that the public's perception of the NHS has been swayed by concerns over cleanliness on the wards.

Brown has told close colleagues that they will never win 'hearts and minds' over the health service reforms until they can demonstrate that the wards really are cleaner, and that they are cutting the numbers of patients being infected.

The Prime Minister and his aides have become alarmed that one in four hospitals is still not meeting the hygiene targets imposed in November 2004 by the then Health Secretary John Reid. Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) now affect some 300,000 people a year, and despite better control measures appear to be epidemic in some areas. The government is unlikely to meet the target it has set itself, of halving the numbers diagnosed with MRSA by next April.

Brown chose to highlight the issue of hospital cleanliness yesterday, on his first visit to a hospital - Kingston, in south-west London - as Prime Minister. A team of experts is being set up within the Department of Health to look at new measures to deal with the problem. The new health minister, the surgeon Professor Ara Darzi, will be asked to devise a new strategy to combat the infections.

Since MRSA first hit British hospitals 10 years ago, it has spread across the country, as an increasing number of people became resistant to antibiotics, coupled with poor cleaning on the wards and the fast turnover of patients."


Boost your immunity to infection and lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! -How to Lose weight!

See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free...(o: