Every patient who stays in hospital will be screened for the superbug infection MRSA and at least half of GP practices will open on Saturday mornings or one or more evenings per week, under government plans unveiled today.

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 this morning.

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Perhaps the most depressing thing of all is not what the report says, but the reaction to it

Nigel Hawkes

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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”. But Lord Darzi yesterday dismissed the idea.

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.

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