Scourge of infection in care homes

‘Risk to the whole community’

THREE residents in every Scottish care home have a healthcare-associated infection at any one time, posing a risk to public health.

A report by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has revealed that almost 6 per cent of long-term care home residents are affected at any one time.

It calls for new infection control measures to tackle the problem.

Healthcare-associated infections are picked up during a stay in hospital or a care home and include urinary tract infections, skin infections and respiratory infections such as colds, flu or pneumonia.

Elderly people are more vulnerable to these infections, which can be caught from other patients or through wounds or catheters.

The National Point Prevalence Survey report, which looked at data from 2,147 residents in 52 care homes for the elderly in October last year, found that one in 17 residents was affected.

The survey also found that antibiotic use remains at about the same level as seven years ago, with one in 16 residents taking one or more antibiotic at any one time, despite moves to crack down on prescriptions of the drugs.

HPS said this presents a threat to public health and to preventing the spread of so-called superbugs. Professor Jacqui Reilly, a consultant at HPS, said healthcare-associated infections ‘remain a public health threat across all care settings’.

She added that HPS would ‘develop national programmes to tackle these new threats and work with colleagues across health and social care settings to preserve antibiotics for future use’.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said he hoped the Scottish Government would work harder ‘to reduce the threat of these potentially deadly infections in care homes’.

Last night Scottish Care, which represents care home providers in Scotland, said infection control was a ‘major priority’. Dr Donald Macaskill, its chief executive, said: ‘Alongside others, we remain concerned about the continued high level of antibiotic prescribing and the risk this poses to not just older people but the whole community.’

Chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen said: ‘Scotland’s work to reduce healthcare-associated infections and contain resistance to antibiotics is globally recognised.

‘Since 2007 there has been a 94 per cent reduction in cases of MRSA, and 88 per cent fewer cases of C-diff in patients aged 65 and over, due to the improved use of antibiotics in both hospital and community settings.’