SOUTH NORFOLK MP Richard Bacon has accused the Department of Health of dragging its feet in the fight against MRSA (pictured, left) and other superbugs, following the publication of a report by the influential Commons public accounts committee on reducing hospital acquired infections.

Mr Bacon, a member of the committee, said: "The report identifies areas where the Government's progress has been half-hearted and slow. There has been limited movement in building a national picture of infection rates, meaning that the NHS still does not know how many people are dying of infections acquired after being admitted to hospital".

The report notes that the much quoted figure of 5,000 deaths per year from hospital-acquired infections is based on 20-year old American data. Moreover, 80 per cent of hospital-acquired infections are not covered by the surveillance programme currently in place.

Mr Bacon said: "The NHS is never going to win this battle if it doesn't know what it is fighting. Progress is slow and inadequate. Compliance with good infection control practice such as hand hygiene is still patchy. The use of alcohol hand rubs is more widespread but sustained compliance is still poor, among doctors in particular".

"The Department has still not published a national infection control manual, despite a recommendation to do so four years ago. As a result there are still no consistent evidence-based nationally accessible infection control guidelines".

The report also found that Government targets and priorities continue to hamper effective infection control and that although hospitals were appointing staff to specialise in fighting infection, these were often doctors who already had heavy workloads.

Mr Bacon added: "Recommendations by infection control teams to close wards for cleaning are still being refused by hospital chief executives. I believe we should remove from hospital chief executives the power to overrule infection control teams. The final decision should rest with the infection control director".

"There are pockets of good practice but their success should be replicated on a national level. It is shocking that levels of monitoring and cleanliness have been allowed to deteriorate to these levels. There is still a great deal to do to get on top of this problem".

See also:o:
PAC REPORT: Read the public accounts committee report in full
PARLIAMENT: MP debates Norfolk's health cash crisis