Tories attack ministers over superbugs

Epolitix - Tuesday, July 22 12:00 am

The government has defended its record on tackling hospital superbugs after the Conservatives described the deep clean programme as a "flawed gimmick".

Shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien said on Tuesday that there were 4,500 cases of MRSA in 2007/08.

Pointing out that this was nearly 600 more than the level needed "for the government to meet its target to halve MRSA rates by last March", he said that C.difficile cases increased by six per cent compared to the previous quarter.

"Will the secretary of state accept that the deep clean programme was a flawed gimmick by the prime minister desperate for a headline?" O'Brien said.

He called on the government to "stop pandering to populism about hospital cleanliness and listen to the evidence about washing hands, screening and bed occupancy rates".

Responding, health secretary Alan Johnson spoke of a "real real success story" in tackling hospital infections.

He told MPs he did not understand how the Conservatives could criticise the current figures, which show a 33 per cent reduction in MRSA and a 32 per cent reduction in C.diff.

Johnson said that rates of C.diff were always up against the previous quarter "because we're taking the winter period when more older people go into hospital".

"I would have thought he would have been celebrating the latest statistics," the secretary of state said.

He said that "no-one on these benches or anyone in the health service" had stopped telling professionals to wash their hands, responsibly prescribe antibiotics and ensure that anybody showing the symptoms of MRSA is isolated.

"On the issue of screening, we announced that we will pre-screen everyone in elective surgery and everyone in emergency surgery over this comprehensive spending review period," he added.

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