HOSPITAL staff are winning the battle of the bugs.
Infection figures for both MRSA bacteraemias and Clostridium difficile have fallen again and are now at record lows at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.
The Trust runs Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax.
At the year end on March 31, the Trust had recorded 66 C. difficile cases against a target of 151 and 4 MRSAs against a target of 5.
The falling figures follow an ongoing campaign of awareness and new initiatives at the trust for staff and also for patients and visitors.
A series of new initiatives were trialled in the hospitals to help cut the rates.
New initiatives this year include:
Swab tests of 20 samples a day per ward from patients’ bedsides to gain an overview of just how clean the wards are
Stricter controls of prescribing and usage of antibiotics which are linked to some C. diff cases
Widespread staff training in aseptic non-touch technique to keep the risk of infections from cannulae and other devices minimal.
David Birkenhead, the Trust’s director of infection prevention and control, said: “These results reflect the determination and hard work shown by staff to reduce the rates of infection in the trust.
“It has been ongoing for several years now and together with continuing help from patients and visitors it means we are delivering safer care in cleaner environments for our patients.”
Medical director Yvette Oade, said: “This is great news but as we have consistently maintained every infection is one too many so the hard work continues.”
