Super bug cases up by 19pc

A super bug which can prove fatal in the over 65s has risen by a massive 19 per cent in Cannock and Stafford hospitals.

There were 278 cases of Clostridium Difficile, which is also known as C Diff, in 2005/6 and this year, since April 2006, there have already been 212 reported cases.

But the Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals Trusts, which runs Cannock Hospital and Stafford General Hospital, says this increase is down to a new way of recording the infection, new resistant strains and that the rate has also risen nationwide.

Karen Morrey, Chief Operating Officer said: "There has been an increase in the number of reported cases, and even though this represents less than seven extra cases per month we take any increase very seriously.

"As well as ensuring that individual patients with C Diff are looked after in an appropriate way, doctors have been given a list of approved antibiotics, which will help reduce the risk of C Diff developing."

Figures for MRSA cases at Cannock and Stafford Hospitals have fallen. The statistics are collated on a monthly basis and there is a national target, set for all Trusts, to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in the bacteria by 2008.

For Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust this target is 15 cases and the latest monthly figures for the Trust show there were 11 cases from April to October inclusive.

Karen Morrey, Chief Operating Officer said: "We are doing all we can to achieve our targeted reduction."