Shropshire’s two main hospitals have gone four months without a case of the MRSA superbug.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust this morning passed the 122 days mark since a case was last reported at either the Royal Shrewsbury or Telford’s Princess Royal.

And it has been more than a year since a case was confirmed among patients in “high risk areas,” such as the high dependency and intensive care units.

The trust has been set the tough target of having no more than six cases this year of hospital acquired MRSA bacteraemia – bloodstream infection – across the two sites.

A ticking clock on the front page of the staff intranet shows everyone working on a computer how long it has been since the last case.

It has become a matter of pride across the organisation to keep the clock ticking.

The trust, which has one of the best records in the West Midlands for tackling infections, is also continuing to drive down the levels of another dangerous superbug, Clostridium Difficile (C.Diff).

Its target is to have no more than 166 over the year and it remains well on track to achieve this.

Impact

Trust spokesman Adrian Osborne said: “The measures we have put in place to try to prevent MRSA, along with the hard work of staff, are really making an impact.

“It’s not just about the frontline staff. Credit must also go to people working behind the scenes, for example staff working in the labs.”

Mr Osborne said the success in fighting infections would not make the organisation complacent.

Back in 2003/04 it was reporting 58 MRSA bacteraemias but last year the figure was down to 11.

The trust in recent years has introduced a wide range of measures and spent huge sums of money to reduce MRSA infections.

These include the widespread screening of patients coming into hospital, so that when it can be spotted in emergency patients or, if they come as a planned admission, it can be treated before they are admitted.

There is always a thorough investigation whenever an MRSA bacteraemia is identified.

Other preventative measures have included a “deep clean” of both hospitals, replacing old bed frames, and opening an isolation ward, which has been highlighted as an example of good practice for the NHS by healthcare watchdogs.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris