New Technology to Combat Superbugs

As reported in Health Insurance News UK, the factor that most influences individuals to take out private medical insurance is their fear of superbugs in NHS hospitals. New technological innovations to combat and MRSA and C. difficile were showcased this week at the International Healtchare Associated Infections Technology Summit in London.

Health Minister Anne Keen went to the exhibition which showcased a host of new inventions. Among them were:

-Portable hand washing stations
-Anti-bacterial materials that can be used to construct a temporary isolation room by nurses
-An air door which sucks air from a vent in the roof and prevents contaminated air from an isolation room escaping

Ms Keen said that, 'Tackling infections is a key priority and the NHS has made great progress tackling both MRSA and C. difficile but there is still a need to battle infections on every front.

'The amazing innovations such as those on display today will be vital if we are to win the battle against infections such as MRSA and C. difficile. As a former nurse myself, I'm especially pleased that the ideas behind many of them came from NHS staff working on the front line.'

The products that were showcased are due to be piloted in 7 NHS hospitals this year. The ideas came from NHS staff who took part in workshops and came up with over 150 ideas on how technology could help fight infection.

Although incidents of infection through superbugs are thought to be down by 50% in NHS hospitals there is still great concern over standards of cleanliness due to under staffing and underfunding. Scotland plans to reduce rates by 30% by 2010. They will be publishing rates of MRSA and C Difficile every two months in an attempt to highlight the importance of keeping on top of the problem. The infection rate in Scotland is very high at 9.5%. The Scottish Government is going to spend £54m over the next three years in order to achieve their goal.

In the private sector the rates are much lower. Nuffield Health recently reported only 2 cases of MRSA out of 365,000 operations.

Dr Jones said: 'Our patients always tell us that the most important reasons for choosing a healthcare provider is infection prevention and the avoidance of things like MRSA.

'That rate is incredibly low and we work very, very hard with our clinical teams to look after the standards of infection control in our hospitals.'

It will be interesting to see the improvements that the new technological innovations will bring about in the battle against the superbugs.