FAMILIES who have lost loved ones to the MRSA superbug want every hospital to get a new kind of machine that can detect the lethal illness within hours.

AN MRSA victim advocacy group has questioned the methods being used by the Hospital Infection Society (HIS) to measure MRSA levels in the first extensive study of hospital infection in this country.

A national database of MRSA infections should be established to determine the extent of the deadly superbug, it was claimed today.

DOCTORS and patients have sharply disagreed on the usefulness of having a second hygiene audit in the country’s 46 acute hospitals.

A WOMAN whose partner underwent major surgery last month said she was more worried about him contracting MRSA than the eight-hour operation.

HOSPITALS must be more open in dealing with patients who contract the MRSA superbug, Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney insisted last night.

An MRSA support group called today for urgent action after the superbug killed seven hospital patients in the last 10 days.

SEVEN people have died from the MRSA superbug in the past 10 days according to the support group for families affected by the deadly organism.

Relatives of people who have died after contracting MRSA have slammed their treatment by the Department of Health.

AT least €35 million was spent on cleaning Irish hospitals last year, yet this country has the highest rate in Europe of the potentially fatal MRSA bug.

IRELAND has no national strategy to tackle the deadly MRSA hospital bug even though we have the second highest incidence of infections in Europe.