Superbug decrease figures revealed

Following up from last month’s article in My Watford News about the massive decrease in infection rates at West Herts Hospitals Trust (WHHT), My News can exclusively reveal the figures on how many patients contracted infections at Watford General over the past five years. Last year, 23 patients picked up the Clostridium Difficile (CD) bug and one person contracted MRSA, a decrease of seven from 2013, when 28 people got CD and three people contracted MRSA. 2012 saw the figures rise substantially, when 46 patients picked up CD and one person got MRSA. 2011 was the best year in the last five for Watford General when just 17 people contracted CD and one patient got MRSA. 2010 was the worst year in the last five with 54 patients contracting CD and five picking up the MRSA bug. Professor Tracey Carter, chief nurse and executive director responsible for infection, prevention and control, said: “We are extremely encouraged by the continued reduction in the number of infections at our hospitals. This is down to the hard work of staff and represents a huge improvement in the quality of care we are able to give our patients. For more on this read the next edition of My Watford News out on July 10.