Name and shame dirty hospitals

PEOPLE go to hospital hoping to be cured — not to be put at risk of infection from life-threatening bugs like MRSA which thrive in dirty environments.

So, patients could be forgiven for anticipating a marked decline in MRSA or the winter vomiting bug following the significant improvement in hospital hygiene reported in the second national independent audit of the country’s main hospitals.

Incredibly, despite the big clean-up, no appreciable reduction in hospital-acquired infections is expected soon, according to Dr Mary Hynes of the Health Service Executive (HSE), who concedes that better hygiene alone will not root out such infections.