A Stormont health committee member last night urged hospitals to improve
basic hygiene levels in a bid to wipe out MRSA on our wards.
SDLP health spokeswoman Carmel Hanna said "not enough is being done"
to properly tackle potentially lethal superbugs such as MRSA.
She was speaking as the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen was last night
monitoring levels of MRSA on one of its wards which had to be closed after
the infection was detected.
The elderly care ward was closed on Monday after it was discovered that ten
of the patients were carrying the multi-drug resistant bug.
Those infected with the organism were not ill with MRSA but were found to
have it present and so were a risk to other patients. People being looked
after in the 36-bed ward remained there last night while those carrying the
infection were treated in isolation.
Mrs Hanna, a South Belfast MLA, said: This incident at the Erne Hospital is
indicative that not enough is being done to prevent hospital acquired
infection.
"MRSA is preventable if hospitals implement best practice."
A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust confirmed last
night that the ward remained closed to new admissions while levels of MRSA
remained high.
Swab tests are to be carried out over the next few days to determine when
the threat drops to a safe level.
The closure comes less than a week after the intensive care unit at Belfast
City Hospital was closed because of an outbreak of the multi-drug resistant
acinetobacter infection. It re-opened last Thursday after being disinfected.
Around 245 cases of MRSA are detected in Ulster's hospitals each year.
Anyone planning to visit patients on Ward 9 at Erne should contact the ward
manager beforehand or go to reception on arrival.
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