Downing Street Says

Asked how worried the Prime Minister was about the MRSA problem, even though there had been a "tiny reduction" in the latest set of figures, the PMOS said people should focus on what the figures showed. They showed that there was a turnaround, which was important in the overall trend. It suggested that what was being done was beginning to work. There were two new initiatives started today to help that trend continue which were a new rapid swab technique, and the confirmation from the HPA that they would publish figures every six months to help people keep track. This was an issue, as the Prime Minister had said, that no-one underestimated, but equally, people should recognise two things. Firstly, it had been a problem that had been in gestation for a long time, but secondly, we were beginning to take the measures that were needed to address it.

Asked why the Prime Minister had said we were suffering the same kind of problems with MRSA as other European countries, when the problems in the UK were "clearly" worse, the PMOS said what the Prime Minister was trying to indicate was they we were not alone in this problem. As Lord Warner indicated on the "Today Programme", the genesis of this problem went back quite a long way. What the Prime Minister was saying was that it was not something that was unique to this country, and equally, it was not something that just happened over the last few years.

Put to him that although it was not unique, most European countries had dealt with the MRSA issue "much more effectively that the NHS", the PMOS said that regarding the "past genesis", it did go back many years. Therefore, there were issues of the analysis of the past. What was important now, however, was that there were things being done, and as the latest figures show, the new measures were having an impact on the trend. That did not mean that the Government was saying in any way that the problem was solved, but at least there was a turning point in the figures.

Asked why the Government was "so late in the day" in coming up with a pilot scheme to try and deal with the MRSA problem, the PMOS said what was ignored was the whole range of measures that were being taken. This should not be seen as the only thing that was being done. The two new measures announced today should be taken into context with the entire range of measures in terms of improved cleanliness in hospitals, washing of hands, etc. The important thing about today was that it showed that the measures being taken were beginning to make an impact.

3 Comments »

No – the important thing today was to answer the question.

"Why was the UK so late in taking action against MRSA?"

ummmm…… pause ……

Answer

Because this government has taken its eye off the ball of domestic politics, doesn’t give tuppence for individual lives, and didn’t want to spend the money.

However now that fudging the figures to show an improvement might win votes we have an announcement that we are winning the battle against MRSA.

hooray
Comment by Roger Huffadine — 7 Mar 2005 on 11:36 pm | Link
"Firstly, it had been a problem that had been in gestation for a long time, but secondly, we were beginning to take the measures that were needed to address it"

So the problem has been in gestation for a long time (no doubt since Michael Howard was last in office…) but it was only today that "there were two new initiatives to help that trend continue". Surely an admission that the government has for a long time sat on its arse and done nothing until a scandal hit the fan the other day?
Comment by PapaLazzzaru — 8 Mar 2005 on 3:44 am | Link
the government figures are false they do not include in the stats the SURGICAL SITE WOUNDS nor do they include death by MRSA but not mentioned on death certificates i would imagine if all the MRSA INFECTED CASES were counted then the government could not say there had been a slight fall in the figures…MRSA means MRSA it does not mean SLIGHT MRSA whenever MRSA is mentioned on patients notes then it SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE STATS but it is not it is totally ignored as are the patients and their families needs and wishes…we are still being told be medical staff MRSA IS NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT….so much for freedom of information..what that really means is the government are free to inform us of nothing
Comment by Bev hurst — 19 Mar 2005 on 3:23 pm | Link

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Post a public comment

Name (required)
E-mail (required)
(You must give an email address, but it will not be displayed to the public.)
Website
(You may give your website, and it will be displayed to the public.)

Comments:

This is not a way of contacting the Prime Minister. If you would like to contact the Prime Minister, go to the 10 Downing Street official site.

Privacy note: Shortly after posting, your name and comment will be displayed on the site. This means that people searching for your name on the Internet will be able to find and read your comment.

Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.

» Monday, March 7, 2005

MRSA

3 Comments »

Post a public comment

Search

Supported by

Recent Briefings

Archives

Links

Syndicate (RSS/XML)

Credits

Enquiries