One in 20 patients get infection at hospital

One in 20 patients admitted to Irish hospitals earlier this year were found to have a hospital-acquired infection, it has emerged.

Just over a third of the 50 acute hospitals surveyed had no designated infection prevention and control doctor and one hospital had no infection prevention and control nurse.

Research carried out by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre during May 2012 found 467 of 9,030 patients had a hospital acquired infection (HAI).