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MRSA

Volume 457: debated on Monday 19 February 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were reported at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006. (112382)

The number of reports of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia recorded at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals National Health Service Trust from April 2004 to September 2006 is shown in the table.

Reports of MRSA bacteraemia recorded at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust

Time period

Number

April to September 2004

24

October 2004 to March 2005

23

April to September 2005

23

October 2005 to March 2006

16

April to September 2006

26

Information on MRSA bacteraemia in individual hospitals is not published routinely, as it has only been collected at hospital level since October 2005. Prior to this date numbers of MRSA bacteraemia were recorded six-monthly by NHS acute trust only. The Department and the Health Protection Agency are currently considering the publication of the more detailed data, gained through the enhanced recording system.

The NHS West Midlands strategic health authority reports that the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust is taking a number of measures to reduce MRSA incidence. These include investigating the possibility of setting up isolation wards and potentially introducing a staff testing policy with regard to MRSA. The trust also invited the Department's MRSA team to review their infection control procedures to see what lessons could be learned.