Friday, October 19, 2007

Raise superbug awareness, reduce subsequent compensation claims

by Katy Lassetter

When involved in an accident and admitted to A&E or booked into hospital to undergo a routine procedure, the last thing you expect is to face sustaining another personal injury or a fatal illness. We entrust our care to medical professionals, expect to be treated and certainly don't expect to have to be up against the NHS making a high-profile compensation claim. But considering the influx of viruses and superbugs in UK institutions over the past 25 years our safety could well be compromised.

First, we will go back to basics. A virus is a tiny organism that multiplies within cells and causes diseases which are immune to the affects of antibiotics. So what are superbugs? Well, the name superbug is reserved for diseases that have several genes that have become mutated and have also developed a resistance to antibiotics.

Both viruses and superbugs frequently become epidemics within institutions where there are large quantities of people in close proximity to one another, such as schools and hospitals.

Meningitis The bacteria that cause meningitis can lay dormant in the nose and throat and be fought off by our immune system. However, approximately 3,000 cases of meningitis are reported in the UK every year. Meningitis is caused by either a bacteria or a virus attacking the meninges, a layer of membrane surrounding the brain, which becomes inflamed.

Viral meningitis is more common but bacterial meningitis can be fatal. 10% of those diagnosed with bacterial meningitis will die and one in four will be left suffering from severe brain damage.

Children and young adults are particularly susceptible to meningitis and epidemics usually occur in schools and colleges. The disease is often passed between kissing contacts such as parents and children or boyfriends and girlfriends.

Babies with meningitis usually have pale faces, cold hands and feet, an arched back, an unusual cry and intolerance to being handled. Adult symptoms include suffering from a neck ache, headache, tiredness, intolerance to bright lights and a rash. Sometimes young people mistake these symptoms as being a hangover, flu or the a result of a personal injury such as whiplash and this can be a dangerous mistake to make.

What's being done to reduce risk of meningitis? Numerous meningitis campaigns have been introduced, including posters and leaflets, warning of the risks, signs and symptoms which can be seen displayed in universities and surgery waiting rooms. Work by the Meningitis Research Foundation also aims to raise both funds and public awareness for the disease. For more details please visit www.meningitis.org.

Free vaccinations against meningitis have been available for those attending establishments of further or higher education for more than five years and seem to be keeping the risk of mass outbreaks low. The Government has also announced a vaccination programme for babies which started in September 2006. This programme means that all babies beginning their routine vaccination programme at the age of two months will now also receive the pneumococcal jab from their GP.

MRSA The superbug that we most frequently hear reported about in the media is MRSA. Methycillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus as it is properly known can be found on the skin or in the noses of perfectly healthy people. However, it can become harmful when it infects wounds and cuts and is spread around the body through the bloodstream. This can cause damage to the bones and joints and eventually lead to organ failure.

MRSA can be spread by touching skin to skin and even be passed on through the air. This superbug is particularly common in hospitals and can also lead to holiday compensation claims after outbreaks on cruise ships and in hotels. More than 5,000 people die of hospital-acquired infections in the UK every year and 7,000 cases of MRSA were recorded in England and Wales during 2002.

It is thought that infection is mostly passed between staff and patients although the general cleanliness of hospitals has also come under scrutiny. Consultant microbiologist at UCLH, Dr Peter Wilson has commented, "If you have a dusty hospital, and most is made up of skin scale [dead skin] it [MRSA] will survive there for one or two months."

A recent compensation claim was made by Godfrey Anachunam Nkemdilim, the father of a 31-year-old woman from Norbury, Greater London, who died after contracting MRSA as an in-patient at a London hospital.

Personal injury solicitor, Rohan Pershad, revealed in court, "She had been admitted to King's College Hospital for a minor procedure and it was there that she contracted MRSA, which was not diagnosed when she was released in August 2001.

"Mr Nkemdilim's case is that, if she had been adequately treated, she would not have died because, although the bug would have developed, effective treatment would have ameliorated the condition."

Mr Justice Teare ruled that the case should be settled for a total of £45,000, some of which was to be used for Mr Nkemdilim's daughter's funeral expenses and the rest of which was to be awarded to be his 14-year-old granddaughter.

What's being done to reduce risk? There has been a crackdown on hospital hygiene since 2003. Doctors and nurses have been encouraged to wash their hands more regularly when going about their duties and they have also been asked to carry antiseptic wipes with them to avoid spreading infection. Visitors have been urged to wash their hands before entering onto hospital wards. In addition, medical staff have been asked to make sure that regular cleaning schedules are carried out and that wards maintain a high standard of cleanliness.

With any hope this should improve the chances of a safer stay at hospital and decrease the chances of subsequent compensation claims being made.

This article may be published on another website free of charge, on the condition that a link is provided from this article to our website: http://www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk

About the Author
Online personal injury compensation claim specialists, with a 97% claim success rate. Call 0800 197 32 32 or visit http://www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk for more details.

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