Tackling infections which can be acquired both in an outside of hospital, is a key theme of Sir Ara Darzi’s interim review of the NHS in England.

Nurses will be required to swab all patients admitted for planned and emergency procedures, to test for life-threatening infections which could put other patients at risk. Those with positive results will be placed in isolation and given creams and body washes to clear the bugs.

Lord Darzi, a Health Minister and part-time surgeon, is conducting a review of services across England and Wales and also aims to improve patients’ access to their local GPs. Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, attended the launch of an interim report on his review in London.

The report was published amid claims by campaigners and opposition MPs that it had been brought forward for publicity purposes amid mounting speculation of a snap election. Doctors and Opposition parties accused the Government of using the NHS as a “political football”.

Lord Darzi’s study sets out how local Primary Care Trusts could work with new and existing GP practices to ensure greater flexibility on opening hours.

Family doctors have come under fire in recent months after nine out of ten decided to “opt out” of providing care on evenings and weekends.

Lord Darzi announced today that the Government’s aim was that at least half of all GP practices would open on Saturday mornings or one or more evenings per week.

A total of 150 GP-run health centres that open seven days a week, 8am to 8pm, will also be established in prominent locations around the country.

In addition, more than 100 new GP practices with up to 900 GPs, nurses, and health care assistants will open in the quarter of primary care trusts with the poorest provision, he said. The aim is to improve the health of people living in deprived areas.

Under measures aimed at tackling hospital bugs, all patients entering hospital for planned and emergency procedures will be screened for MRSA.

The Government’s aim is to screen all elected admissions for MRSA next year, rising to include all emergency admissions over the next three years.

The Lancet, a leading medical journal, said the only way to beat infection was through hand-washing.

Lord Darzi said: “Cleanliness is not just about wards being clean. It’s about preventing the spread of infection. I wash my hands for at least five minutes before I carry out an operation. I tell patients not to let anyone touch them unless they have washed their hands.”

The Darzi review was announced in the summer with the final report expected next year in time for the 60th anniversary of the NHS. But doctors and political parties are sceptical about the Government’s motives, as the interim report was not expected for another week.

Jonathan Fielden, of the British Medical Association, said: “We hope it will set out a clear vision for the NHS and be about engaging with clinicians. But my concern is that it will be about getting good news about before an election.”

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Bringing forward Darzi’s findings so soon is yet another example of this labour government using our NHS as a political football.

“How can NHS professionals feel confident and how can patients feel safe when they know that this report must have been cobbled together without consideration for clinical evidence.”

Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman, said it had only been three months since Gordon Brown launched the review.

“How much can he have listened while engineering all the talk about elections? The key to providing better services to patients is making the NHS more responsive to local communities, not a plan imposed on the whole country by ministers sitting in Whitehall.”

From:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2588491.ece

Stalinist Brown’s MRSA superbug plans ignore scientific evidence claims Lancet On 28 Sep 2007 Health Direct posted that the Labour government plans for tackling superbugs, such as MRSA, have been condemned by a leading medical journal for not being based on scientific fact.

The Lancet said there was little evidence to support hospital “deep cleans” or short sleeves for medical staff as also recently mentioned by Health Direct.