New hospital ward halts spread of deadly bug

10:40am Saturday 19th July 2008

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The number of cases of a highly infectious bug at a hospital has fallen since the introduction of a dedicated isolation ward.

In January the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton became one of the first in the country to set up a ward specifically to treat patients with clostridium difficile (C. diff).

Between then and June the hospital has recorded 145 cases of the bug compared to 202 over the same period last year.

The hospital has set itself a target of having no more than 292 cases between April and the end of next March and is in line to meet that so far with 76 cases recorded from April to the end of last week.

Staff on the hospital's 11-bed Grant ward have been given extra training and follow trust-wide guidelines which mean they must keep their sleeves rolled up and not wear ties or watches.

Every patient and visitor is asked to use hand gel and wash their hands with soap and water when on the ward to reduce the spread of infection.

The ward is thoroughly cleaned four times a day and kept as clutter free as possible.