Hospital infection cleanup costs $137 million a year

Dealing with infections acquired in public hospitals is estimated to cost $137 million a year, a report by the Auditor-General's office says.

"Here, and in other developed countries, it is estimated that about 10 per cent of patients admitted to hospital will acquire an infection as a result of their hospital stay," the report said.

A "fair proportion" of infections could be avoided by improved hospital practices.

More attention needed to be given to infection control as a key part of risk management and high-quality healthcare, the report said.

"Everyone working in a hospital should take responsibility for infection control."

The report into the 21 district health boards found staff at some hospitals did not attend meetings intended to outline how to keep hospitals clean and safe.

Infections contracted in public hospitals are believed to have been responsible for the deaths of at least 11 people. This was partly due to overcrowding, too few nurses and poor hygiene practices, the report said.

Hospitals were told to improve basic hygiene requirements, such as staff regularly washing their hands.

The report makes 39 recommendations to reduce and monitor hospital infections.

While it did not state which hospitals were the worst, it said the elderly, infants and patients receiving treatment that suppresses the immune system, such as chemotherapy, were most at risk.

Infections were most likely to appear in the urinary tract, lungs, surgical wounds and in the bloodstream. They include the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" MRSA, which featured in 1044 public hospital cases in 2001.

Problems managing an outbreak of MRSA included a shortage of hospitals beds during winter, requiring patient transfers that spread the infection.

A shortage of regular nurses, requiring the use of casual staff, created extra risk of the infection spreading, the report said.

Among the recommendations for the Health Ministry were:

* To review the administration of expert advisory groups relating to infection control.

* To review the way it and health boards collected and fed back data on bloodstream infections.

* To work with health boards and Environmental Science and Research to establish a timetable and project plan for setting up national surveillance of hospital-acquired infection.

- NZPA