UK NHS complacent about HCAIs, new report says

Published: 14-Oct-2014
Infection Control

Medical Technology Group's report criticises NHS Trusts for a lack of monitoring and action over healthcare-acquired infections

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Most NHS Trusts are unaware of the full scale, cost and impact of healthcare-acquired infections (HCAIs), such as sepsis and norovirus, a new report from the Medical Technology Group (MTG) suggests. The report raises concerns that enough is not being done to combat HCAIs despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s warning in July that resistance to antibiotics is ‘a very real and worrying threat’.

Around six in 10 NHS Trusts (58%) that responded to a ‘Freedom of Information’ request, fail to collate the total number of cases of five common infections, while around three-quarters (74%) keep no records at all of the number of associated deaths.

The vast majority (88%) of Trusts that responded are completely unaware of the financial burden or operational impact of HCAIs. Just one Trust said that it measured the total number of extra nights that patients stay in hospital due to infections acquired in the course of their treatment.

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