Patients already had bug
ALEX THOMPSONONE in four patients at an NHS trust with the highest rate of infection in Britain brought the superbug in with them, it was revealed yesterday.
The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust is the first to put a figure on the number of cases linked to "community- acquired" MRSA.
The trust's cases rose by nearly a quarter from 123 to 152 in the last year. Twenty-eight per cent of patients already had the bug on admission.
Paul Hateley, nurse consultant for infection control, said: "We wanted to know if the rise in cases was associated with a particular intervention or clinical speciality. "There was no key theme other than a significant percentage - over a quarter - taken to hospital were shown to be MRSA positive within 48 hours."
The trust is planning to introduce routine screening of people admitted to the Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak Hospitals.
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