To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on recent measures to (a) record and (b) combat infections acquired in hospitals. [122433]
Since April 2001 all acute trusts in England have had to report methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections. This was the first phase of a mandatory surveillance scheme for healthcare associated infection and the first two years' results are available at the Public Health Laboratory service website: www.phls.org.uk/ publications/cdr/PDFfiles/2020/cdr2502.pdf and http:// www.phls.org.uk/publications/cdr/index.htmlThese data have enabled the introduction of an MRSA improvement score into the national health service performance management system this year.The second phase of the mandatory scheme will be introduced this September when trusts will have to report blood stream infections due to glycopeptide resistant
enterococci and serious untoward incidents associated with infection.
The Chief Medical Officer is spearheading a new Government drive to tackle healthcare associated infections, especially those acquired in hospitals. A long-term strategy to prevent and reduce infections in the NHS will be published in the autumn.