The hospitals killing us with infections

LEADING medics have won their battle to name and shame NSW hospitals that are killing up to 13 patients a month due to poor hygiene.

hospitals

LEADING medics have won their battle to name and shame NSW hospitals that are killing up to 13 patients a month due to poor hygiene.

Offending hospitals will now be published on the federal government's Myhospital website, after health ministers agreed to it on Friday.

Infectious diseases medics, alarmed by the death rates, had been pushing for the move in a bid to reduce the number of infections.

According to NSW Health infections data, an average of 45 patients a month acquire a preventable staphylococcus aurous bloodstream infection in NSW hospitals and a quarter of them will not survive the infection.

Last year 545 patients contracted the infection of which 136 would have died as a result.

The Sunday Telegraph's investigation revealed seven major NSW hospitals fail infection rate benchmarks. The findings come the same week as the federal government announced a $16 billion overhaul of the nation's hospitals.

Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said most bloodstream infections could be prevented if health care workers adhered to strict hand-hygiene protocols.

However, findings by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care showed many doctors were still not washing their hands between patients.

"It is the hands of staff that move bugs from patient 'a' to patient 'b'," Professor Collignon said. He said making infection rate data available would help badly performing hospitals learn from those performing better with infection control.

Professor of Medicine at the Australian National University and author of Gone Viral Frank Bowden said: "We need to get the message across to doctors, it is in your hands to reduce infection rates."

The benchmark for bloodstream infections is two per 10,000 bed days, yet some of the state's biggest hospitals failed the benchmark.

The worst performing hospital in NSW is Lismore Base hospital with 3.4 bloodstream infections per 10,000 beds. Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital were next with 3.2, followed by Royal Prince Alfred with 2.7.

Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick had no children suffering a bloodstream infection, but the Children's Hospital at Westmead had 1.5 infections per 10,000 beds.

WORST HOSPITALS

Infections per 1000 bed days

Lismore Base 3.4

Sydney 3.2

Sydney Eye 3.2

Royal Prince Alfred 2.7

Concord 2.5

Coffs Harbour Base 2.3

Blacktown 2.3

Tweed 2.1

Westmead 2.0