The information requested is not collected centrally. The best available data are from the mandatory surveillance system operated for the Department by the Health Protection Agency, which covers methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections, glycopeptide-resistant enterococci infections, and orthopaedic surgical site infections (SSIs).
Data are not available by parliamentary constituency but by acute national health service trust. The following tables provide data for the Mid-Essex hospital services NHS trust.
All acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of bloodstream infections caused by MRSA.
April to March each year Mid-Essex hospital services NHS trust 2001-02 44 2002-03 33 2003-04 43 2004-05 41 2005-06 38 2006-07 12 2007-08 9 Notes: 1. These data comprise all specimens processed by acute NHS trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients, and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere. 2. These data are only available by financial year.
All acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of C. difficile infection in people aged 65 years and over. In April 2007, mandatory surveillance was extended to include all patients aged two years and over.
Mid-Essex hospital services NHS trust 2004 164 2005 268 2006 277 2007 133
April to March each year Mid-Essex hospital services NHS trust 2007 171 Note: These data comprise all specimens processed by acute NHS trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients, and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere.
All acute NHS trusts in England are obliged to report all cases of blood stream infections caused by glycopeptide-resistant enterococci.
October to September each year Mid-Essex hospital services NHS trust 2003-04 0 2004-05 0 2005-06 4 2006-07 4 Notes: 1. These data comprise all specimens processed by acute NHS trust laboratories, not just those from in-patients, and include infections acquired in hospital and elsewhere. 2. These data are available from October to September; they are not available by calendar year.
Since 2004, data have been collected from the mandatory surveillance of SSIs in orthopaedic categories in NHS hospitals in England. Hospitals carrying out orthopaedic surgery have to participate in the surveillance of at least one category for at least one quarter of the year.
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Surgical category Number of operations SSIs Number of operations SSIs Number of operations SSIs Number of operations SSIs Hip prosthesis 205 4 325 3 416 1 367 0 Knee prosthesis 209 2 358 0 343 0 396 0 Open reduction of long bone fracture 109 2 200 1 211 3 223 0 Hip hemiarthroplasty 105 6 136 0 103 0 134 0 Note: All of the SSIs reported are identified during the in-patient period.
The information requested is not collected centrally. From 1 April this year, the national health service has been screening all relevant elective admissions for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and will be expanding this to include emergency admissions by 2011.
It is not appropriate to screen for all healthcare associated infections, and screening for healthcare associated infections other than MRSA is a matter for local determination according to clinical appropriateness and risk.