January 8, 2008

reaction to new initiative to tackle hospital infections

The Government has announced a series of new measures to tackle and reduce hospital infections, including the hiring of specialised nurses and pharmacists.

Richard James, Professor Of Microbiology, Nottingham University, said:

“There is no simple, quick fix for reducing hospital infections, certainly not a one-off deep clean.

“The Health Secretary has announced some more of the components of the required integrated strategy for reducing hospital infections.

“Admitting the scale of the problem of hospital infections will justify the level of resource needed to significantly reduce it.

“Far sighted Hospital Trusts will already have these posts in place.

“MRSA screening on hospital admission will further increase the pressure on scarce isolation capacity. What steps will be taken to assist the Isolation nurses to maximise the use of this important but scarce resource?”