Shropshire hospitals declared MRSA-free for a year

There have only been two cases of the highly infectious superbug in the last 29 months at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal.

Today bosses at the NHS Trust said tackling infections was a 'top priority' and praised the efforts of staff in preventing the spread of superbugs.

Jo Banks, associate director of patient safety at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "Reducing infections such as MRSA and clostridium difficile in our hospitals is a top priority for the trust.

"We have a very strong record when it comes to tackling infections – for example, we have now gone 365 days since our last recorded MRSA bacteraemia.

"This is a direct result of our staff taking infection prevention and control seriously.

" I would like to thank all of our staff for their continued hard work and dedication, and for helping the trust to maintain its strong record of tackling infections."

She reminded visiting patients to ensure their hands were cleaned before entering or leaving a ward or clinical area, by either using soap and water or the hand gels provided.

"By preventing germs from circulating we can all play our part in helping to reduce infections such as MRSA and clostridium difficile, as well as the spread of flu, stomach bugs and other winter illnesses.

"By washing your hands with soap and water and making sure they're dried properly you can significantly reduce the number of germs circulating and reduce your chances of getting ill.

"We would ask anyone who has flu-like symptoms not to visit hospital, as well as anyone who has had symptoms of Norovirus, or other 'winter vomiting' bugs, within the last 48 hours."

The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust has a ticking clock on the front page of its staff intranet so that everyone working on a computer can see how long it has been since the last MRSA bacteraemia.

The MRSA superbug is a bacterial infection that is resistant to a number of widely used antibiotics.