The frightening truth about MRSA screening at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

My mother went in to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital last week for a minor operation, and she was pleasantly surprised to be taken to one side shortly after arrival and told she, like all other patients would be screened for MRSA with them taking a mouth swab and a groin swab to test.

Great news, you would assume. After all, this is what they do in Holland as a matter of course in order to isolate MRSA carriers and ensure they are kept away from other patients and treated with the correct drugs to eliminate MRSA before it gets in to open wounds.

But no, the hospital's actions is a piecemeal attempt to pretend at trying hard to control infections. Why ? Because they told my mother it that they results would not be known for three days, which was pointless as she was actually having the operation that day and she would be home before the results would be known.

What an utter joke infection control is in the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital is, and I am sure that other hospitals are no better.

Update : It appears from this BBC story this morning that there is a 2 hour MRSA test available (which costs £17) but there is also a cheaper 3 day test (£6). So it appears that the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital are simply doing the cheapest test and wasting £6 each time in to the bargain.

Super bug figures hide the true extent of hospital acquired infections

The Government have been trying to claim that today's announcement that MRSA cases has fallen is some sort of triumph of vindication of their policies. The fact that C.Dif infections is up seems to be taking up less of the government's time, but is well reported HERE.

What is interesting though are the comments I heard on Radio Five Live earlier from a charity who monitor hospital acquired infection rates. They claimed that the reporting period for MRSA was actually only nine months, not twelve months, meaning comparisons are difficult to make, whilst some hospitals have reclassified some hospital acquired infections so they do not have to report the,. more worryingly, some NHS trusts had completely failed to submit numbers on C.Dif infections.

It seems, like Gordon Brown's economic figures, Labour are able to hide all manner of things in their health figures too.