Hospital Malpractice and Negligence Claims
Over 200 cases are being brought by patients who contracted the MRSA bug at Waterford Regional Hospital.
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is Ireland's leading hospital superbug. It is commonly found on the skin of many people who suffer no ill effects. However, if it gets into the bloodstream, it can be fatal. An estimated 10,000 patients contracted the bug last year with 240 patients dying from it. MRSA is mainly spread through poor hygiene.
A hygiene audit published by the Department of Health placed Waterford Regional Hospital bottom out of fifty-four hospitals. The audit showed widespread neglect of basic hygiene practices and was carried out amid growing concerns about MRSA and other superbugs in hospitals. A hospital spokesperson said that WRH spends Ä2m annually on contract cleaning services.
About one percent of all admissions to WRH have been recorded as colonised cases of MRSA. A colonised case is when the bacteria is on the body but doesn't affect the patient. Irish hospitals are not obliged to publish the number of cases of MRSA they deal with every year.
The former patients are being represented by the legal firm of Brian Lynch and Associates of Galway. Many of the claimants contracted MRSA following relatively minor operations and the cases go back ten years. Currently, they are awaiting the outcome of a test case being taken by a Kilkenny woman, expected to be heard next year. This test case is understood to involved a claim for Ä3m. The 200 plus cases are being brought against the Department of Health, Health Services Executive, and hospitals around the country.
Brian Lynch and Associates were was unable to say exactly how many patients they were representing who had contracted MRSA while at Waterford Hospital.
Speaking at the MRSA conference at Waterford on Saturday, Ian Simon, of Brian Lynch and Associates said, "It's now time to hit the Government where it's going to hurt them. I am not too sure if suing the State is going to achieve the answer. But at least if people, who have suffered because of MRSA, have legal redress and can achieve compensation, the Government will then wake up and ensure that the problem is at least stamped out to such an extent that they are safe places to walk into."
Dr. Ronan Fawsitt, of the Irish College of General Practitioners, has called for a coherent hygiene strategy for all hospitals. He says it should be backed by the medical profession and policed by an agency with power to impose sanctions on those who fail to comply with standards.
The Department of Health introduced best practice guidelines ten years ago in relation to the prevention of MRSA, which were distributed to health boards and often ignored. Pressure on the Government to take action on MRSA has intensified with the launch of a new patient's lobby group called MRSA and Families. The new group was set up by Kilkenny woman Margaret Dawson, whose husband Joe contracted MRSA.
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