Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship

You will notice that, since New Labour came to power, not a single leading Cabinet member or party 'heavy hitter' has appeared on the programme (BBC's Question Time). Spin, not face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's chosen method of communication. Ordinary people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she might tell the truth. Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September 16, 2004

 

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Superbugs kill 20,000 a year

by Beezy Marsh, Health Correspondent - Daily Mail - July 2, 2004

Hospital superbugs are claiming 20,000 lives a year. The staggering figure last night exposed the scale of a deepening crisis on our wards, where one in ten patients picks up an infection.

They suffer from some of the worst overcrowding in Europe, meaning injected patients cannot be isolated. At the same time, overworked staff are cutting corners on basic hygiene rules. Last night one of the Government's own infection control experts laid the blame firmly at the door of ministers.

Professor Barry Cookson, director of infection control at the Health Protection Agency, said pressure on Trusts to reduce waiting lists had forced bed-occupancy above 100%, with patients kept on trolleys until a bed is available. He said the rate must be reduced to 85%.

The fact that a senior member of a government agency has been forced into apparently criticising goveernment health policy highlights how desperate the situation has become. Some 5000 deaths a year are believed to be directly attributable to MRSA, the most deadly of the drug-resistant infections sweeping through hospitals. Other infections contribute to 15,000 deaths. Actress Leslie Ash is currently recovering from a bug called MSSA.

The UK languishes at the bottom of an MRSA league table, alongside Greece, and there is even evidence that we are exporting the disease to Europe. Experts say strains of MRSA which originated in the UK are responsible for outbreaks in Sweden and Finland.

Patient groups last night demanded action to reduce the overcrowding being blamed for allowing the bugs to thrive. "People are very concerned about going into hospital because of this," said Simon Williams, of the Patients' Association. "You only have to take a look in a ward to see why. I have seen patients in beds crammed so close together they can practically hold hands. MRSA costs lives and a lot of money. Not enough is being done to stop it.."

MRSA, or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureas, stops wounds from haling and leads to complications including pneumonia, meningitus and, in the worst cases, fatal blood poisoning. It is resistant to all but the most powerful antibiotics. It first appeard in the 1960's but has reached epidemic levels in the last few years. Attempts to keep track of victims is hampered by pressure on beds.

Patients are often sent home after three or four days, but MRSA infections may not emerge for seven days, meaning the infection is already out in the community. DrAlison Holmes, of Imperial College, London, said patients undergoing hip replacements or heart surgery should be kept away from other patients to minimise the risk of MRSA invading their wounds. But she added: "It's very difficult to ringfence any of these groups when you can't keep any beds empty. We're trying to stick as many patients into hospital as possible. This involves a lot of juggling and leads to increased risk of infection."

Professor Cookson warned that the Government's Patient Choice initiative - which allows people to travel away from local hospitals to get surgery - raised therisk of spreading MRSA still further.

Conservative Shadow Health Minister Simon Burns said: "It is shocking and unacceptable that patients might be being put at increased risk of acquiring an infection such as MRSA as hospitals rush to fill beds and meet arbitrary Government targets."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow called for targets to be scrapped. "People go into hospital to get better. Bur they are getting sicker because of Government targets and because infection control is not a high enough priority. The pressure on managers to jump through government hoops and meet targets means that patients are shunted from ward to ward or put into beds before they have been cleaned properly."

Government Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson admitted high bed occupancy rates were a problem but said a raft of measure was in place to tackle MRSA. "The NHS is treating many more patients and cutting waiting lists. In these circumstances, extra efforts have to be made to reduce the risk of inffection."

The NHS Improvement Plan, which sets targets for the next five years, has pledged 'significant reductions' in MRSA infection rates between now and 2010.