VIGILENT hospital workers are cutting infection rates across Morecambe Bay, despite hundreds of extra patients putting pressure on the system.
The number of people infected with deadly Clostridium Difficile (C Diff) fell by 129 in 2008 than the previous year, while MRSA rates fell to an average of 0.67 cases per month.
But a meeting of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust heard yesterday (Wednesday) that A&E departments at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Barrow’s Furness General Hospital had been under “significant pressure”.
A report which went before board members revealed hundreds of unexpected patients had needed treatment in December. The added pressure on the system resulted in around £125,000 being spent hiring extra doctors and nurses and caused the trust to cancel operations and miss key targets.
The Health Protection Agency has renewed an appeal for people with sickness and flu bugs not to risk spreading infection by attending hospital or GPs surgeries.
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