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The government body NICE said thousands of deaths could be avoided each year if doctors and nurses wash their hands. Stock picture
The government body says 800 patients a day – or 300,000 a year – are infected by a member of staff or by dirty equipment. It is estimated the infections cause 5,000 deaths annually and contribute to another 15,000.
NICE says the figures are ‘unacceptable’ and that many of the deaths could be avoided if doctors and nurses simply washed their hands.
Campaigners accuse NHS staff of becoming ‘complacent’ about hygiene and say patients are becoming ‘more ill’ in hospital when they should be getting better.
While hospitals have taken deep-cleaning measures to eliminate superbugs such as MRSA, there are fears staff may have failed to carry out more routine hygiene measures to control other infections.
NICE today issues new – seemingly basic – hygiene guidelines. They include telling staff to wash their hands between patients, making sure equipment is clean and not leaving tubes inside patients for too long.
Professor Gillian Leng, NICE deputy chief executive, said: ‘It is unacceptable that infection rates are still so high within the NHS.
'Infections are a costly and avoidable burden. They hinder a patient’s recovery, can make underlying conditions worse, and reduce quality of life.
‘Although there have been major improvements within the NHS in infection control, particularly in relation to Clostridium difficile and MRSA bloodstream infections in the last few years, healthcare-associated infections are still a very real threat to patients.’
The guidance from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) includes telling managers to carry out regular checks on whether staff are washing their hands properly and to ensure enough soap and hand-gel is provided on each ward.
Doctors are also told not to prescribe antibiotics too freely – and certainly not for colds and coughs – amid fears that bacteria are becoming resistant.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, said: ‘People go to hospital to get better but it appears that they are at risk of becoming more ill due to infections.
‘This is an avoidable “never event” that must be stopped from happening urgently. It is simply unacceptable that patients are still being exposed to such high risks of infections, which in some cases can lead to the death of the patient.
One in 16 patients are developing infections such as MRSA on NHS wards because of poor hygiene among staff. NICE says it is estimated the bugs cause 5,000 deaths a year, and contribute to another 15,000. Stock picture
‘Concerns over hospital-acquired infections are nothing new and warnings highlighted over the last decade have not been heeded.
‘It would appear that infection control is dropping off the NHS agenda and healthcare workers and hospital managers have become complacent in recent years over this issue.
‘Many patients who are admitted to hospital are frail and elderly and very vulnerable and are at serious risk of acquiring infections. We receive many calls to our helpline every year from patients who are concerned about the cleanliness of their hospitals.’
JUNIOR DOCTORS TO START NEW JOBS LATER TO STOP DEATH SURGE
Half of junior doctors should start their new jobs a month later to prevent a surge in death rates, experts say.
The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges has called for a shake-up to the training system to reduce the impact of ‘Black Wednesday’, which falls in the first week in August.
This is when thousands of junior doctors start their new jobs and figures show patients admitted on this date are 6 per cent more likely to die.
The academy wants half of junior doctors – those who have already been working for one year – to start their new jobs in September.
The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges has called for a shake-up to the training system to reduce the impact of ‘Black Wednesday’, which falls in the first week in August.
This is when thousands of junior doctors start their new jobs and figures show patients admitted on this date are 6 per cent more likely to die.
The academy wants half of junior doctors – those who have already been working for one year – to start their new jobs in September.
Tom Sandford, director of the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘Infection prevention and control are key to patient safety and need to be prioritised by every health service organisation.
It is vital that all healthcare workers are actively involved in upholding infection control and hygiene standards and nursing staff have been at the forefront of many successful efforts to reduce infections and promote patient safety.
‘Infection prevention and control are serious issues that require clear leadership.’
A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘MRSA and C difficile rates are at the lowest levels since mandatory surveillance began.
‘Data shows that England has one of the lowest rate of infection per inpatient treated in Europe. But we know that there is more to do to on preventable infections and NICE is right to urge the NHS to go faster on this.
‘Last month we announced a new safety drive so the NHS can halve avoidable harm, including preventable infections, and halve the costs of avoidable harm over the next three years.’
My mother almost died FOUR times from hospital infections reveals TV actress
Actress Amanda Redman has revealed how her mother almost died after contracting a string of potentially lethal infections following a routine operation.The actress said her mother Joan was taken to the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton earlier this year after suffering from gallstones. She claims the 79-year-old spent two months in intensive care, almost dying four times, after catching ‘several’ infections.
Miss Redman, 56, said: ‘My mum has been incredibly ill. She has been in hospital for two months in intensive care.
Actress Amanda Redman has revealed how her mother almost died after contracting a string of potentially lethal infections after being admitted to the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton earlier this year, suffering gallstones
‘She is slowing getting better. She went in with gallstones and then she had several different infections. She has nearly died four times now.
‘We are so close and it has been hideous. But she is getting better now, which is great.
‘On top of that, one of my oldest friends, who I have known since I was 14, also died recently. He was 71 and was in the same hospital as Mum.
‘He told me he had been given hours to live and I thought he was being dramatic.
‘I held his hand all night and he died the next morning. It was such a shock.’
The actress, best known for her role in the BBC series New Tricks, said her mother had been 'incredibly ill'
Miss Redman is best known for her role as Sandra Pullman in the long-running BBC One series New Tricks. She is now appearing in a new ITV drama about comedian Tommy Cooper.
Her father died when she was a teenager, and her brother Tim died of pneumonia at the Royal Sussex Hospital in 2008 at the age of 43.
Asked if her mother’s hospital ordeal and her friend’s death had made her more aware of her own mortality, she told Yours magazine that she had cut dairy products from her diet and given up smoking.
She added: ‘With my friend and mum being ill, it has made me a lot more health conscious.
‘Mum has got all her marbles and she is so strong. But physically, she is dreadful. I don’t want to be like that.’
A spokesman for the Royal Sussex Hospital declined to comment last night.
Miss Redman has not accused the hospital of inadequate care or failing to look after her elderly mother. However, in 2005 the hospital became the subject of an undercover investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme.
It revealed elderly patients suffering neglect and a series of indignities, including being left hungry and thirsty and being made to wait hours to go to the toilet.
The programme sparked an investigation by Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which issued an apology over ‘serious lapses in the quality of care’.
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