16 April 2009
The Care Quality Commission today (Thursday) praised the NHS for making further progress in the NHS drive to lower infections. Cases of the gastrointestinal bug Clostridium difficile dropped nationally for the third consecutive quarter.
Nigel Ellis, Head of National Assessment and Inspection, said:
"Last month it was reported that rates of MRSA fell again and now we are seeing the same trend with C. difficile.
"Overall, NHS trusts are continuing to strengthen their grip on infection control, which is good news for service users. They must remain vigilant to ensure that all healthcare-associated infections are kept down.
"We are monitoring NHS providers to check they are maintaining tight practices for infection control, including good antibiotic prescribing, cleaning and decontamination. On April 1st, we identified 21 trusts that need to make swift improvements and will be paying particular attention to them. We won't hesitate to use our enforcement powers to drive improvement where needed."
Notes to editors
The Health Protection Agency releases the number of cases of Clostridium difficile every quarter.
About the CQC: Snippet for press releases
About the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.
We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.
We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.