ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new independent survey commissioned by UK and Ireland support services company Resource has concluded that almost 50 per cent of people questioned  would refuse to go into hospital
in case they contracted a superbug infection.

Nearly 70 per cent of the 1,000 questioned said they were worried about themselves or a relative going into hospital and contracting a superbug infection. Nearly 50 per cent said this fear would prevent them from going to hospital and 47 per cent said either they, or someone they knew, had
contracted a superbug infection after receiving care at a hospital.

The survey results have been released at a time when infection control experts are warning that the best estimate of treating healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in the UK is at least £1 billion (€1.18 billion). That's because patients with a healthcare-acquired infection, compared to uninfected patients, stayed in hospital 11 days longer; incurred 2.9 greater hospital costs; and incurred 3.2 greater post-discharge costs.

This is particularly pertinent as the National Health Service (NHS) is facing the possibility of an outbreak of the new 'superbug' NDM-1 - and infection control once again is under the spotlight.