Superbug causes pensioner to lose leg
A CAPE Town man has called for mandated reporting of hospital infections and public access to such information after he contracted the so-called “superbug” in a private hospital that led to his leg being amputated.
Piet Westra, of Pinelands, said what was meant to be a routine knee replacement three years ago has resulted in 10 additional surgeries and the amputation of his upper leg.
He had contracted methicillin-resistant staphylococcus epidermidis, or MRSE – a bacteria which resists antibiotics and has been described by top medical experts as one of the most deadly threats facing the world.
Westra, 79, said that since the operation at Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital in May 2013, he endured “unbearable pain”, until his left leg was amputated in April.
After 18 months of treating the MRSE infection, Westra picked up another bug known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, resulting in an open discharging wound which wouldn’t heal.
“In April last year I was informed that the intensive treatment of antibiotics did not remove the bacteria.
“The next step was amputation above the knee. There was no guarantee that this drastic measure would even remove the superbugs.”
Apart from the pain he suffered from infections and 10 additional surgeries, what irked the pensioner most was the secrecy concerning the “superbugs”.
“There is so much secrecy about the incidence of superbugs in hospitals that when you try to get this information it’s like fighting against a wall. I feel that private hospitals should not keep secret any info that is important for their patients. We are living in an open society which should be informed,” he said.
While reluctant to respond directly to Westra’s case, Vincent Pallotti acknowledged that antimicrobial-resistant organisms “present a challenge to healthcare systems worldwide”. Hospital manager Annette Olls said the hospital had stringent infection prevention and control management systems.
“Through continuous measurement and monitoring of our compliance to infection prevention ‘ bundle’ interventions, we continue to experience a reduction in most hospital-acquired infection rates and publish the year-on-year reduction in our annual report.”
She added that an electronic surveillance system implemented by the hospital group allowed for prompt and appropriate management of each patient infected with a significant multi drugresistant organism.
Westra’s call for publishing of this crucial information comes days after private hospitals indicated that in future they would publicise their success and failure rates – a move that could help consumers compare the performances of these facilities and their doctors before seeking health services.
During the public hearings of the Market Inquiry into Private Healthcare last week, at least two major hospitals – Life Healthcare and Medi-Clinic – indicated they were prepared to publish this information to help consumers make informed decisions when seeking services.
Discovery Health said some of the most common hospital-acquired infections were urinary tract infections, followed by surgical site infections, bloodstream infections from intravenous catheters, and pneumonia associated with life ventilators.
Discovery Health has estimated that healthcare-associated infections could add in excess of R1 billion a year to the costs of hospital admissions for its members.
Dr Roshini Moodley Naidoo, head of clinical quality management at Discovery Health, said it was not only the costs of such infections that were significant, but that “many people may be harmed”.
“We regard healthcare-associated infections as an important area for improvement, beginning with the measurement and reporting of such infections in both public and private sectors.”
I WAS INFORMED THAT THE INTENSIVE TREATMENT OF ANTIBIOTICS DID NOT REMOVE THE BACTERIA. THE NEXT STEP WAS AMPUTATION