THE Health Protection Agency's quarterly performance reports on MRSA and Clostridium difficile show that the number of infections at hospitals in the county is reducing.
The figures show that there were 111 cases of C-diff in Lincolnshire between July and September 2007 - 26 of those were infections where specimens were taken by GPs. This compares with 113 cases in hospitals alone in the three months previously.
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RSA cases have also seen a slight drop, with 14 cases between July and September 2007 compared with 16 cases in the previous three months.
Chief nurse at ULHT, Sylvia Knight, said: “The figures reflect the hard work going on within the trust to cut the rates of infections.
"We have maintained one of the lowest rates of C-diff in the country for the past two years and these new figures show that we are continuing to do that.
"Not only that but our own figures show us that the number of infections in our hospitals has continued to drop since September and we hope to maintain this good performance."
l Of the C-diff cases reported between July and September 2007, 89 were in patients aged over 65.
Of these, 19 were reported as being specimens taken in other trusts or elsewhere by GPs.
l The other 22 cases of C-diff reported during the period were among patients aged two to 64. Of these, seven were reported as being specimens taken in other trusts or elsewhere by GPs and therefore were unlikely to be hospital acquired.
l Of the 14 MRSA cases reported between July and September 2007, half of them were cases of patients found to be positive at admission to ULHT hospitals or within 48 hours of admission and so were unlikely to be hospital acquired.
