Bug outbreak in Belfast hospitals

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7542746.stm

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The Belfast Trust is fighting an outbreak of the C Difficile bug after the number of cases in its hospitals doubled to almost 60.

In June there were 28 cases but at the end of last month there were 58 cases in the Trust.

Its medical director Dr Tony Stevens said everything was being done to tackle the problem.

"We are risk-assessing every single patient that comes to Belfast Trust," he said.

"If we have any concerns about those patients they go into a sideroom.

"We've worked hard to increase the number of side rooms. We've also created a specialist ward for those cases so they're not spread out around the hospital," said Dr Stevens.

The increase in cases comes a day after the Northern Trust said the C Diff bug contributed towards eight deaths in its hospitals during July.

A total of 19 new cases were identified last month - four fewer than the previous month.

A team of experts from England is advising the Department of Health on how best to manage the outbreak.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Liz Mitchell said hospitals were learning how other hospitals have managed.

"We are looking very closely at hospitals which have already experienced serious outbreaks of this condition and we're looking at what they've done and put in place to reduce their numbers," said Dr Mitchell.

"We have actually brought over a team from England called the Safer, Cleaner Hospitals Team to tell us about what approaches are being used and are having good success in Great Britain."

Elderly patients are most at risk from the C diff bug, with over 80% of cases reported in the over 65 age group.

In February, the health minister set up an independent review to look at how all the trusts were managing.

An interim report has called for more single rooms to isolate patients with infections and more checks to ensure staff are washing their hands.