What is the true picture of MRSA?

From the archive, first published Tuesday 31st Jan 2006.

SIR - Recent Government press releases would have us believe that our hospitals are getting cleaner, and that hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA are under control. But is this the true picture?

MRSA Action UK is a charity set up by a group of people who have either suffered from MRSA, or lost a family member to MRSA. Our aim is to raise public awareness and campaign for safer standards within the NHS. Government figures suggest that 5,000 deaths a year are attributed to MRSA - 14 deaths a day, many of which are avoidable. We believe that the actual figure is far higher, as many instances of MRSA go unreported, and many death certificates do not record MRSA as a factor of death.

Several members of MRSA Action UK will be featured in the forthcoming "Mischief: A Dirty Weekend" programme to be broadcast on BBC3 on January 19 at 10.30pm in which the standards of cleanliness in some of the UK's top hospitals will be under the spotlight. If you or your family have been affected by MRSA please write to us.

P WOODHATCH,

MRSA Action UK

52 Cove Road, Fleet, Hampshire, GU51 2RN

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