Shropshire’s two main hospitals have now gone more than 100 days without a case of the MRSA superbug.

Shropshire’s two main hospitals have now gone more than 100 days without a case of the MRSA superbug.

Over the year-to-date since last April, the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has had only two cases. These occurred in quick succession last October and were the first for more than eight months. The trust runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal.

It has been set the tough target of having no more than six cases of MRSA bacteraemia (bloodstream infection) for the current year ending March 31. There have been no cases of MRSA since October.

Adrian Osborne, trust spokesman, said today: “Tackling infections has to be one of the highest priorities for NHS organisations.

“Through a wide range of measures such as screening, improved hand hygiene, and the diligence of staff, we have managed to bring down hospital acquired infections.”

To help encourage staff to follow infection control, a clock on the organisation’s intranet system measures the days, hours and minutes since an MRSA case was last reported.

The screening of patients for MRSA has proved highly effective. The trust screens patients before they go in for planned surgery or for an overnight stay.

It also screens patients once they have been admitted following an emergency.

But in line with national policy, it does not screen very low risk patients such as most paediatric and maternity patients, and patients who are attending for day case endoscopy, eye surgery and minor dermatological procedures.

This time last year the trust had seen nine cases. Back in 2003/04 it reported 58 for the year.

Other preventative measures have included a “deep clean” of both hospitals.

The trust has also been successful at driving down another infection — Clostridium Difficile. Its target is to have no more than 166 cases acquired in the hospitals for the year ending March 31. A recent report to the trust board revealed that at the end of December there had been 54 cases.

By Health Correspondent Dave Morris