Deaths from hospital infections are still rising sharply, according to the latest figures from National Statistics.

Data recording how often MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) or Clostridium difficile are mentioned on death certificates shows a dramatic rise between 2004 and 2005; up by 39 per cent for MRSA and 69 per cent for C diff. The figures contrast with those from the Health Protection Agency, which records the number of bloodstream infections. Their figures for MRSA show a small decline over the same period.

Both sources of data are open to criticism; the HPA’s because they count only bloodstream infections, a small fraction of the total; and the National Statistics data, because they may reflect an increasing willingness by doctors certifying death to mention MRSA or C diff as a cause or contributory factor, rather than any real increase.

According to the new data, the number of death certificates in England and Wales mentioning Staphylococcus aureusalmost doubled between 2001 to 2005, from 1,211 to 2,083. Of these, the percentage that were specifically MRSA rose from 61 per cent in 2001 to 78 per cent in 2005.

Over the period 2001 to 2005, MRSA was mentioned in one of every 500 death certificates, and C diff on 2 out of every 500. Total mentions for C diff reached 3,807 in 2005.

The death rate for C diff among men in England and Wales almost trebled between 2001 and 2005, from 13.1 to 37.6 per million population, the ONS said, while among women the rate more than trebled, from 12.8 per million to 38.9 per million.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the Health Minister, said: “We are now getting a far more accurate picture of the number of deaths from C diff and MRSA with vastly improved recording. It is a major challenge for the NHS and a top priority for Government.

“We have set very tough targets for trusts to reduce infections and put a hygiene code and a tougher inspection regime into law, to drive up standards of hygiene and infection control. As a result we are now starting to see significant reductions in rates of MRSA infections.

“We have also provided £50 million funding which will give a cash injection to trusts to boost infection control measures. Many people who have healthcare-associated infections are very sick and are vulnerable to infections, not all of which are avoidable, but we are ensuring that the NHS has good hand hygiene and correct clinical procedures to prevent the ones that are.”

Levin Wheller, from the ONS, said twice as many men get MRSA as women, although death rates were similar. One possible reason could be poorer hygiene among men, he said.

Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Labour ministers are failing to face up to the dangers of MRSA and C diff. Hardworking NHS staff are not getting the support they need to deliver a comprehensive strategy against hospital acquired infections. Three years ago I called for a search-and-destroy strategy to be piloted. Still it hasn’t happened, while staff and patients are left frustrated by the Government’s lack of interest and action.”

The Government has set national targets for cutting MRSA (measured by the HPA’s method) by half by 2008, but a leaked memo from the Department of Health recently revealed that this target would be missed, and might never be achieved. There are no national targets for C diff; local areas are supposed to set their own targets.

Gordon Lishman, Director General of Age Concern, said: “We are extremely concerned about the dramatic rise in deaths involving C diff. By failing to set national targets, the Government is shirking its responsibility and failing thousands of NHS patients, many of them older.”

Katherine Murphy of the Patients’ Association said: “Our worry is that these figures will continue to rise as other priorities take precedence. Only two weeks ago the Government promised to make infection control one of its top priorities. Yet its own announcement to reduce waiting times further by ‘round the clock operations’ will inevitably harm these efforts.”

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