Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 85: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her Department has records of correspondence from any acute hospital or health board regarding the implementation of guidelines of 1995 to control the spread of MRSA; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20929/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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My Department undertook a search of the available files dealing with the issue of MRSA as a result of the Deputy's question. From this initial search of the files it was not possible in the time available to identify any correspondence on file from any acute hospital or health board specifically regarding the implementation of the 1995 guidelines on the control of MRSA in health care settings.

Effective infection control measures, including environmental cleanliness and hand hygiene, are central to the control of HAIs including drug-resistant organisms such as MRSA. Improving the standards of cleanliness in hospitals is a priority. One of the specific actions identified in the ten point plan to improve the delivery of accident and emergency services refers to the need to address this particular issue.

In order to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance, including MRSA, the strategy for the control of antimicrobial resistance in Ireland, SARI, was launched by the Department of Health and Children in June 2001 and it sets out national policy in this area. Since then, approximately €20 million in funding has been made available under the strategy. This SARI funding is in addition to normal hospital funding arrangements in regard to infection control.

A SARI infection control sub-committee has updated the 1995 national guidelines for the control and prevention of MRSA in hospitals and in the community. The key recommendations cover such areas as environmental cleanliness, bed occupancy levels, isolation facilities, hand hygiene, appropriate antibiotic use and protocols for the screening and detection of MRSA. These guidelines are currently with the Health Service Executive for finalisation and are expected to be published in the coming weeks.

Effective infection control measures, including environmental cleanliness and hand hygiene, are central to the control of HAIs including drug-resistant organisms such as MRSA. The SARI infection control sub-committee released national guidelines for hand hygiene in health care settings during 2004. These guidelines have been widely circulated by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and are available on the HPSC's website.

The prevention and control of hospital acquired infections is a priority for me and for the Health Service Executive. The director of the National Hospitals Office has engaged external consultants to carry out an independent hygiene audit of hospitals this summer. The results of the audit will be made public and will ensure that the issue of hygiene is taken more seriously by hospitals than it has been heretofore.

Every hospital in the country will know that the public will have access to the results of the hygiene audit and this will encourage hospitals to perform better to tackle MRSA and help to ensure that the matter is taken more seriously. I am not happy with the standard of hygiene in hospitals and it is one of the first matters with which I asked the new National Hospitals Office to deal. I am determined that our hospitals are run to the highest possible standards. There is no excuse for low standards when huge money is being spent on cleaning programmes involving both in-house cleaning and outside contracts.

We need an all out national effort in regard to MRSA. Anything that requires to be done will be done, either by way of reporting, getting correct data published and changing practices in hospitals. We will also be making money available for public awareness campaigns targeted at people visiting hospitals so that they are fully informed about best hygiene practices.