
The reason the MRSA superbug is so prevalent is because hospitals in England are so overcrowded, says a new study published in the British Journal of Nursing. The study found that more than three-quarters of hospitals in the country has in excess of the permissible 82 percent bed occupancy rates with a third of the trusts exceeding 81 percent.
Researchers from the University of Ulster said that the high rates mean that there is very less time to disinfect the bed before the next patient occupies it. Previously the researchers had studied the relationship between rates of MRSA infection and bed occupancy in Northern Ireland. They found the same relationship existed in England.
The authors including nursing lecturer Brian Cunningham, Professor of Health Research, George Kernohan, and researcher Thomas Rush; say that the situation is the same in 35 specialist hospitals in England. The researchers also estimate that the turnover rate for a single bed could be as little as 72 minutes.
"The rise in the incidence of MRSA rates may be a symptom of a systems failure in the central and local management of the NHS."