State €150m ‘could go to superbug prevention’

THE State is spending at least €150 million a year on the treatment of the MRSA superbug when it could be spending the money on prevention.

Delegates at the second MRSA and Families Network conference in Waterford at the weekend demanded the Government show an urgent political will to deal with the problem.

There are more than enough experts in the Irish health system to tackle the bug, the conference was told.

Hilary Humphreys, a professor of microbiology at the Royal College of Surgeons and a consultant at Beaumont Hospital, has written the MRSA guidelines for British hospitals.

But Dr Robert Cunney, a consultant microbiologist, said the political will to use this and other expertise to best effect is lacking.

He said the Government must implement a range of measures including enforcement of hygiene guidelines, the provision of more isolation rooms, proper antibiotic stewardship and, critically, an increase in the number of hospital beds and staff.

Síle Creedon, an expert in infection control research at University College Cork’s School of Midwifery, told the conference that her research into hospital-acquired infection shows that treating MRSA is costing the Health Service Executive at least €150m per annum.

The HSE is to publish a three-year action plan soon, setting targets to deal with MRSA, and the National Hospital Hygiene Audit is due to be published today.

The MRSA and Family Network will meet with senior HSE officials next week to discuss the issue.