HSE pledges immediate action to curb spread of superbugs

The Health Service Executive today admitted that current measures were not enough to prevent the spread of superbugs in Ireland's hospitals.

The HSE was responding to a report in today's Irish Times which said that 8,000 people tested positive for the potentially fatal bug, MRSA.

Fifty hospitals around the country are being inspected to determine their hygiene standards, and the HSE said it expected to have the results by the end of the month.

Stephen McCarthy of the HSE said immediate action would be taken to combat hospital infections.

“It's a very high priority issue within the HSE and within the hospitals themselves," he said. A great concentration of work is being carried out in this area at the moment.”