MRSA screening for admissions

Growing numbers of hospitals will screen patients before admission to prevent the spread of infection, it was reported yesterday.

Hospitals are being encouraged to be "very imaginative" about how they deal with people coming onto their premises, according to the Observer.

The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS Trusts, said patients are now more scared of infection than of other hazards of surgery.

Trust chief executive Gill Morgan told the paper that some hospitals are screening patients for MRSA infection before admission. Others are considering tightening up on visiting.

At Lewisham Hospital, South London, as many as 40 per cent of patients admitted from nursing homes were found to be carrying the infection.

She said: "If you know you have a problem, screening is a very good technique.

"We have new technologies to give you rapid analysis: it’s no good bringing someone in to screen and then having a test that takes three days to give you results."

She added: "Patients are tired and unwell, and ten family members sitting on the edge of the bed doesn’t seem a good idea.

"We have been experimenting with more limited visiting, smaller numbers of people coming in."