hospital_ward

Rise of superbugs in hospitals down to cutting cleaners’ jobs, suggests GMB

pharmafile | February 20, 2017 | News story | Sales and Marketing GMB, MRSA, NHS, Superbugs 

The rising numbers in those exposed to superbugs, such as E.coli and MRSA, is due to the cuts in the number of cleaning staff, according to a report by GMB. The number of cases of such superbugs had been progressively falling, with fewer cases of MRSA, in particular, reported between 2004 and 2008.

GMB has linked the resurgence of superbugs to cuts in the NHS wage bill, despite rising numbers of patients. The rise in infection rates of MRSA led to £120 million being diverted to ensuring the cleanliness of hospitals and other measures, including hand wash stations. MRSA, for example, can be spread through touching a person’s skin, or touching contaminated items or furniture that are near a person who has MRSA.

 

Cleaners to patient numbers

 

Number of Healthcare Associated Infections

 

Cleaners

Inpatients

 

C.Diff

MRSA

MSSA

E.Coli

2010/11

39,167

14,890,844

 

 21,707

 1,481

N/A

N/A

2011/12

41,046

15,019,396

 

 18,022

 1,116

 8,767

N/A

2012/13

38,867

15,145,633

 

 14,694

 924

 8,812

 32,309

2013/14

38,653

15,462,057

 

 13,362

 862

 9,290

 34,286

2014/15

38,738

15,892,457

 

 14,192

 800

 9,845

 35,764

2015/16

38,391

16,251,841

 

 14,139

 819

 10,586

 38,132

Data provided by GMB

Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary for Public Services, released the following comments in a statement to accompany the report: “These appalling figures leave no doubt that years of outsourcing and cuts to cleaning staff pose a serious threat to patients’ safety. There must be no going back to days when thousands of people died every year due to preventable hospital related infections. That’s why the recent increase in cases of MRSA and other bacterial infections is so concerning. We know that having proper numbers of well-treated cleaners makes a difference. Our members do their best even when faced with long hours and low pay, but skyrocketing patient numbers are stretching them to their limits. The NHS faces a multi-billion pound gap in its finances by 2020, and the fear is that Trusts will be tempted to cut or outsource cleaning services even further. Trusts need to put public safety first and stop treating cleaners as a soft target for cost-cutting, and the Government must provide the NHS with the fair funding that it urgently needs.”

The report also sources a study by Oxford University that found those hospitals that outsourced cleaners displayed a close 50% increase in the incidence of MRSA compared with in-house cleaners – though the study did highlight that savings were made as a result of outsourcing.

Ben Hargreaves

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