Written question asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 26 June 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 July 2000. It was answered by John Denham (Labour) on Monday, 3 July 2000 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many instances of MRSA have been reported in the past five years in (a) Harrogate District Hospital and (b) North Yorkshire Health Authority; and what measures his Department has taken to eliminate instances of MRSA. - Inc fact that the data requested are not held centrally.

Answer: Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of MRSA have been reported in the past five years in (a) Harrogate District Hospital and (b) North Yorkshire Health Authority; and what measures his Department has taken to eliminate instances of MRSA. [128089] Mr. Denham: The data requested are not held centrally. Tackling hospital acquired infection, including MRSA, has been set as a "must do" for the NHS. We have developed and issued national standards for infection control that places responsibility on chief executives of NHS trusts to deliver locally. Progress on compliance with these standards will be independently reviewed and monitored by both the Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement.

Secondary information