RECENT figures published by the Department of Health show that Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust, one of the top hospitals in the country, is also in the top 10 worst hospitals for reported cases of the deadly diarrhoea-inducing hospital bug, Clostridium difficile. C. difficile is a naturally occurring, spore- forming bacteria which is often found in baby's bowels, where it is usually harmless. But C. difficile flourishes in adults - particularly vulnerable pensioners - when the normal bacterial balance is disrupted, which can happen after a dose of antibiotics. Most cases result in a mild illness. However, among elderly victims, the bacteria can cause serious dehydration, which in extreme cases has led to death. The resilient bacteria can lie dormant for up to 70 days and can live on hospital floors and in areas around toilets. It is even immune to many cleaning products, although bleach usually destroys the bug. Frimley Park lies an undesirable seventh on the list ranked by rate per 1,000 bed days for patients 65 and over, from figures calculated between January - December 2004. In response to these figures, Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, said: "I have written to Andrew Morris, chief executive of Frimley Park urgently seeking an explanation for the worrying levels of C. difficile in the hospital" He went on to say that: "Hospital-acquired infections, and particularly MRSA, are a growing problem in our hospitals today. Five thousand people now die of hospital-acquired infections every year. "However, MRSA is not the only hospital- acquired infection of serious concern. Unfortunately it appears that the government's recent narrow focus on MRSA, which has resulted in a target being set to half MRSA infections by 2008, has lead to deteriorating rates for these other, untargeted, hospital-acquired infections. "In my view hospitals, and their staff on the frontline, should be able to operate free from the constraints of government targets and free to act on the basis of clinical need. In fact, by discouraging the closure of dirty wards and beds for cleaning, it is the government's targets that have contributed to the rise of hospital-acquired infections in the first place." A hospital spokesman said: "Frimley Park Hospital is tackling the problem of C. difficile infections in a number of ways and we expect that by the time the next figures are published, the trust will have succeeded in cutting the rate as it did with MRSA earlier this year. "The chief measure introduced by the trust to combat C. difficile is a policy of limiting prescribing of antibiotics known to cause the gut balance disturbance which could lead to infection. "Staff are more aware of the problem and are sending samples to the laboratory earlier, and treatment is started as soon as diagnosis is made. "Affected patients are being isolated when side rooms are available or nursed together in bays. Staff are encouraged to wash hands with soap and water as well as alcohol because alcohol is not effective against spores. "Detergent hypochlorite is the most effective general cleaning agent to combat C. difficile and the trust currently uses a combination of a detergent and hypochlorite. We are urgently looking for supplies of a combined agent which would speed up the cleaning process.
