Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
More than 40 deaths linked to superbug
Published on Tuesday 27 September 2011
MORE than 40 people have died at two hospitals over the last three years after contracting a killer superbug.
Health chiefs have revealed that 44 patients died at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton and the University Hospital of Hartlepool after contracting clostridium difficile (C.diff).
Each fatality must be reported to NHS bosses and a log of incidents shows there were 15 deaths at Hartlepool and 29 at North Tees between April 2008 to April 2011.
But trust chiefs say the number of cases has fallen dramatically and not all of the cases were contracted on NHS premises as it is a community-based infection.
There are also cases where C.diff was listed as a contributory cause of death, rather than the primary reason.
Sue Smith, director of nursing, patient safety and quality at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said staff have been working hard to make sure the number of outbreaks of the bug fall every year.
Ms Smith said C.diff is a particularly unpleasant illness which causes diarrhoea and vomiting,
She added: ?People who are otherwise fit and well can deal with and recover from a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting. But the problems arise with people whose immune systems are compromised because they are unwell or have other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart or chest disease.
?The infection is present in the community and in hospitals, but because in hospital we have many people together who are also unwell, it is a constant challenge to prevent its spread.?
The number of deaths has fallen from 18 across the two sites in 2008/2009, to 16 the following year, and 10 in the year ending in March 2011.
Read more - Hartlepoolmail
Published on Tuesday 27 September 2011
MORE than 40 people have died at two hospitals over the last three years after contracting a killer superbug.
Health chiefs have revealed that 44 patients died at the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton and the University Hospital of Hartlepool after contracting clostridium difficile (C.diff).
Each fatality must be reported to NHS bosses and a log of incidents shows there were 15 deaths at Hartlepool and 29 at North Tees between April 2008 to April 2011.
But trust chiefs say the number of cases has fallen dramatically and not all of the cases were contracted on NHS premises as it is a community-based infection.
There are also cases where C.diff was listed as a contributory cause of death, rather than the primary reason.
Sue Smith, director of nursing, patient safety and quality at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said staff have been working hard to make sure the number of outbreaks of the bug fall every year.
Ms Smith said C.diff is a particularly unpleasant illness which causes diarrhoea and vomiting,
She added: ?People who are otherwise fit and well can deal with and recover from a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting. But the problems arise with people whose immune systems are compromised because they are unwell or have other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart or chest disease.
?The infection is present in the community and in hospitals, but because in hospital we have many people together who are also unwell, it is a constant challenge to prevent its spread.?
The number of deaths has fallen from 18 across the two sites in 2008/2009, to 16 the following year, and 10 in the year ending in March 2011.
Read more - Hartlepoolmail