Group says poor hygiene is not the cause of illness

DOCTORS yesterday blamed the acute shortage of hospital beds for the growth in MRSA infections.

The newly formed Alliance of Doctors for Better Public Healthcare said that while hygiene audits were important, more beds were urgently needed in the acute sector.

The alliance, a loose network of senior doctors backing public healthcare, is seeking to win back public confidence in the public health system.

Yesterday the organisation held a meeting in Dublin, during which they launched a document to inform and move forward the debate about the health service.

The document, entitled Myth-busting in Irish Healthcare: Separating Fact from Fiction, claims MRSA is a “direct consequence” of the bed shortage.

It dismisses as fictional the statement that there are more than enough beds and that MRSA is caused by doctors not washing their hands.

It also dismissed claims that public hospitals are dirty, that the hygiene standard of healthcare professionals was suboptimal and that MRSA occurs because of this.

“The truth is that MRSA is a direct consequence of the bed shortage,” the document stated.

Alliance member and consultant neurologist, Dr Colin Doherty, said he got annoyed when it was suggested MRSA was spread by doctors not washing their hands.

“My hands are cracked and dry from washing them,” he stressed.

Dr Doherty said that distance between hospital beds was crucial in reducing the spread of infection: “Infections are more likely to happen when hospital A&Es are overcrowded and where there is a limited availability of isolation units.”

The document notes that the number of beds in the hospital system was reduced by one-third — from 18,000 in the 1980s to 12,000 today — while the population has risen 25%.

The alliance is anxious that people question the way the healthcare system was going, especially in the run up to the General Election.

Regional meetings of the alliance are planned over the coming months.

One of the founders of the group, neurologist Dr Orla Hardiman, said it was hoped to make funding for the health service, and in particular, investment in public hospitals, an election issue.