Rise in Deaths Rates Due To MRSA

The National Statistics department said that there is a sudden rise in the death rates due the people suffering from MRSA, the so-called hospital superbug. According to the latest figures MRSA is now six times more likely to be a factor in the deaths of people in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. 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.

Murray Devine, head of safety at the independent Healthcare Commission, said that it is necessary for us to analyze why some hospitals are better at handling hospital acquired infections than others. In the quarterly health report the true cause are revealed which said that the number of drug-related deaths increased by more than 150. It entirely made up of heroine and morphine overdoses, though deaths relating to cocaine and ecstasy also increased slightly.

About 2,000 deaths were linked to the soaring temperatures across England and Wales in August 2003.The rate of pregnancies among girls less than 16 years reduced by almost 6%. This was a great victory for the campaigners who wanted to reduce the number of very young mothers. Among 1168 cases of MRSA it was the principal cause of death in 360 cases. Peter Goldblatt, chief medical statistician said that the deaths are due to many factors such as lack of better reporting, increased resistance to antibiotics, lack of proper maintenance of hospital hygiene and difficulty in treatment due to its resistance to standard antibiotics.

A Department of Health survey, said that people are not satisfied with the appearance and cleanliness of NHS hospitals. In response the government announced that infection control teams will be sent into the 20 hospitals with the worst MRSA infection rates. Christine Beasley, the chief nursing officer at the Department of Health, said about 360 deaths was recorded as a result of MRSA infections. Hence a strict hygiene code and a tougher inspection regime were needed to drive up standards of hygiene and infection control.