Hospital problems

Superbug deaths up by nearly a quarter in year

· Death certificates citing MRSA rise by 213 to 1,168
· NHS hospitals the most likely source of infection

Polly Curtis, health correspondent
Friday February 24, 2006
The Guardian

The number of deaths related to MRSA, the so-called hospital superbug, increased by almost a quarter, according to the latest figures. MRSA is now six times more likely to be a factor in the deaths of people in NHS hospitals than anywhere else, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday.

A total of 1,168 people had MRSA recorded on their death certificate as a principal cause of death or a contributory factor in 2004, a rise of 213 from 2003.

Help the Aged called the increase in deaths scandalous, while Murray Devine, head of safety at the independent Healthcare Commission, said: "It is worrying that deaths related to MRSA have risen over the past few years. We have to get to the bottom of why some trusts seem to be better at handling hospital acquired infections than others."

The increases are documented in the ONS's quarterly health report, published yesterday, which also reveals that:

· The number of drug-related deaths increased by more than 150 in 2004 to 2,598, interrupting a steady decline since 2000. The increase was almost entirely made up of heroine and morphine overdoses, though deaths relating to cocaine and ecstasy also increased slightly

· Some 2,000 deaths were linked to the record-breaking temperatures across England and Wales in August 2003, when they topped 30C (86F) for 10 days in a row

· The rate of pregnancies among girls under 16 dropped by almost 6%, while the number of conceptions overall increased by 2.4% in 2004. Some 55% of these were outside marriage, compared with 44% in 1993. Campaigners claimed a victory for the government's strategy to reduce the number of very young mothers.

Of the 1,168 cases where MRSA was cited in 2004 in England and Wales, it was the principal cause of death in 360 cases, up from 321 the year before.

The ONS said that routine testing for the bug was becoming more common, which explained some of the increase in cases. Peter Goldblatt, chief medical statistician at the ONS, said: "The fact that people are dying with MRSA remains a cause for concern, but people shouldn't panic. There are lots of factors involved."

Aside from better reporting, the question is whether some of the increase is down to an increased resistance to antibiotics, or whether hospital hygiene is playing a part. MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is one of a group of bacteria which cause infections that are difficult to treat because they are resistant to standard antibiotics.

A Department of Health survey, carried out last June and published yesterday, revealed a six percentage point drop in people reporting they are satisfied with the appearance and cleanliness of NHS hospitals, to 62%. This month the government announced that infection control teams will be sent into the 20 hospitals with the worst MRSA infection rates. Around 50% of hospital trusts are on course to meet a government target to cut infection rates in half by 2008.

Christine Beasley, the chief nursing officer at the Department of Health, said that 12 million people went into hospital every year, and only 360 deaths were recorded directly as a result of MRSA. She added: "But it is unacceptable for anyone to die unnecessarily from infections.

"We are now legislating to put a hygiene code and a tougher inspection regime into law, to drive up standards of hygiene and infection control, with ultimate sanctions for trusts who fail to deliver."

The shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: "Every time a worse statistic is released, patient confidence in the government's policy is undermined further."