REVIEW OF THE YEAR’S ACTIVITY 2007.

This has been a very busy year for MRSA and Families Network, we’ve hardly had time to draw breath, so it is opportune to take stock as we prepare to start into the activities of another new year. While we are at it, we would like to wish all our friends and supporters the best for 2008, and remember those who have passed on as a result of MRSA.

During the year we continued to lobby politicians and to keep them informed of what was happening (or not happening) in the area of hospital acquired infections. During the General Election, every candidate was sent a copy of our position on MRSA (this is on the web-site). We got positive feed-back from many of them, and it was useful to provide them all with the information. In addition we had meeting with the then leaders of the Opposition, Mr. Enda Kenny and Mr. Pat Rabitte. We also met the advisors of the Taoiseach. Since the election, we have met the Taoiseach and the new opposition spokespersons for Health, Mr. James Reilly and Jan O’Sullivan. The Taoiseach, Mr. Ahern met us at his offices, and listened to our concerns. They have all been informed of our aims, and the personal experiences of MRSA casualties.

This year, we got our long sought-for meeting with Professor Drumm, and we continued our twice-yearly meeting with Dr. Kevin Kelleher and Dr. Mary Hynes of the HSE. We met Dr. Mary Culliton, Head of the Division of Consumer Affairs. Arising from the meeting with Professor Drumm, one of our members now sits on the HIQA working group which is devising new standards of infection control.

We traveled to Holland, where we saw the highly successful Dutch ‘Search and Destroy Policy’ in action. We hosted extremely successful conferences in Donegal and in Trinity College, Dublin, with an impressive line-up of national and international speakers. We continued with our public meetings in Cork and Waterford. We have sent a submission to the EU Petitions Committee, pointing out that health care consumers in Ireland are entitled to the same quality of health care as those in other EU countries such as Holland, Denmark and Sweden, where the hospital acquired infections rates are much lower. The papers in relation to the complaint made under the 1947 Health Act have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Our members addressed The Clean Hospital Summit and the Dublin conference of the Federation of Pensioners Associations, and we were represented at the HIQA Patient Safety Conference. In keeping with our policy of supporting MRSA casualties, we attended Coroners’ Courts in Cork and Dublin.
We went to the memorial for those who have died from MRSA which was held in Westminster in London by MRSA Action UK.

Our friends in the media have been good to us, and our members made contributions to the Late Late Show, Seoige and O’Shea, Questions and Answers, Prime Time, TV 3AM, the Evening News, Morning Ireland, Today FM, the Last Word, the Left Hook and many local radio stations all over the country. These local radio stations are particularly important to us in publicizing our meetings. The print media, both national and local, have continued to highlight hospital acquired infections and we are happy to co-operate with the reporters who have an interest in the subject.

We have met with SIPTU, and have arranged to meet representatives of the INO. This is a recognition that hospital acquired infections are a concern for workers as well as for patients. SIPTU have suggested co-operation between the different groups representing patients so that a united front can be presented to the Minister and the HSE on an agreed agenda. We have piloted an advocacy scheme in the West of Ireland, whereby people who feel intimidated by the health care system can enlist the help of an MRSA and Families representative.

Fund-raising efforts this year included bag-packing in Kilkenny, a fashion show in Waterford sponsored by Waterford News and Star, and a donation from the WLR Christmas Appeal.

What has happened in 2007 in relation to hospital acquired infections? The rate of MRSA blood stream infections has remained static. We don’t know the rate of C. Dif infections, but we have asked that this be made a notifiable disease, so this situation may change. The next HIQA audit will give MRSA infection rates by hospital. We would like to see this expanded to more than blood stream infections and are continuing to press for this.

There is still dissatisfaction with the care provided by the HSE for MRSA casualties who are in their own homes and have to be cared for by family members. We are continuing to bring pressure to bear to improve this situation.

All hospitals now have anti-bacterial gels available on entry, even though the use of these remains variable. There is a much higher awareness of MRSA in the general population, and we have some evidence that this is being translated into the hospitals. Some patients are feeling confident enough to ask practitioners to wash their hands, and there is anecdotal evidence that environmental hygiene has improved in places.

We have gained a lot more knowledge about MRSA and other infections and are actively engaged in passing this on to everybody else. The HSE has told us that they are interested in receiving complaints and we are setting up information meetings to pass on the most effective ways of making these complaints.

Most importantly, we have taken phone calls from some hundreds of people who have been affected by hospital acquired infections and don’t know where to turn. We see this as a vital part of our work, and will continue, with your help, to do it.

If anybody reading this has questions or suggestions please contact us at the addresses given on this site.

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