MRSA LINK TO BABY DEATH TRUST BIDS TO REASSURE BELFAST MATERNITY PATIENTS

AN outbreak of MRSA at a neonatal unit was not a direct cause of a baby’s death, but was linked to it, according to the Belfast Health Trust.

Two babies were infected, and while it’s understood both had the same strain of the bacteria in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital, they were in the unit weeks apart.

One of the babies recovered and was discharged.

It has not been revealed whether the baby who died was the first or second infant to be placed in the unit.

The Belfast Trust has launched an investigation.

In a statement it sought to reassure patients’ families and the public.

It said: “The Belfast Trust is currently managing an infection outbreak which occurred earlier in the summer and involved two babies who spent time in the neonatal unit.

“While the bacteria was not a direct cause of the baby’s death, it is being connected.

“We would like to reassure the families of our patients as well as the wider public that the situation is being appropriately managed.

“Robust infection prevention and control measures are in place in the unit and every precaution is being taken.

“Visitors to the neonatal unit can help us to prevent the spread of infection by being diligent in relation to hand hygiene.” The Belfast Trust defines an outbreak as two or more cases of an organism of the same strain.

The death of the baby is being treated as a serious adverse incident and the coroner has been notified.

According to the NHS website, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is carried on the skin of around one in 30 people, and often causes no symptoms. But it can lead to an infection if it gets deeper into the body, for example through a wound, feeding tube or drip.

People with other serious health conditions may be less able to fight off the infection, meaning that those in hospital are particularly vulnerable.

In December 2014 it was reported that two babies had contracted MRSA at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital.

And in January 2012 three babies died in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in a pseudomonas outbreak.

That April an RQIA report into the pseudomonas outbreak recommended a move to a new neonatal unit to improve infection control.

The Belfast Trust says the new £57m Maternity Hospital next to the existing one will be finished at the end of next year.

However, in March it revealed that three levels of the new critical care building, which have been designated as part of the new maternity hospital building, cannot be occupied until approximately 2021 due to delays.

❝ Robust infection prevention and control measures are in place and every precaution is taken