MRSA up by 18% at the North Mid - Conservatives will combat \'superbugs\' and ensure our hospitals are clean! 28/10/04


William MacDougall, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate in Tottenham, this week backed the Tory action plan to clean up hospitals serving Tottenham and across the country, and clamp down on dirty wards which are breeding grounds for dangerous 'superbugs' like MRSA.

MacDougall explained,

"Since Labour came to power, the rate of superbugs in England has doubled. Our hospitals are far worse than those on the Continent. Despite the Government being warned four years ago, action has not been taken to improve cleanliness and infection control. Many people in Tottenham are now
understandably worried about entering hospital because of fears about catching superbugs. Vulnerable people may be avoiding getting the health care they need."

Government figures show that North Middlesex Hospital has had an 18% increase in infections, and has one of the worst MRSA infection rates in the country at over 3 cases per 10,000 bed days.

Outlining an action plan to tackle these hospital-acquired infections across England and restore public confidence in the NHS, MacDougall continued:

"Labour have not responded to the rising number of MRSA cases with the urgency required. They are all talk.  The next Conservative Government will take action to enable doctors and nurses to provide cleaner hospitals."

The action plan includes measures to:

* Abolish flawed Whitehall targets which have overridden the recommendations of infection control teams to close beds or wards for cleaning.
* Require the preparation and publication of infection rates in each hospital, on the basis of each clinical department.
* Recruit additional infection control nurses and include training in infection control for health professionals.

MacDougall concluded:

"Under Labour, billions of pounds have been spent on the NHS but there are too many bureaucrats, too many dirty hospitals and too many people waiting for treatment. Under another Labour Government, patients would go on waiting and hospitals wouldn't get any cleaner. Conservatives will get our hospitals clean, get money through to frontline services and give patients the opportunity to choose where and when they get their treatment."

ENDS.