Everyone wants to know that their local hospital is clean and safe. So it was very sad that the Healthcare Commission downgraded St George’s hospital’s clinical performance from Good to Fair last year – and put the blame firmly at the foot of the spread of MRSA in our local hospital.
St George’s management had missed their targets on superbugs infections for months in a row with little clear sign of action. They had refused to own up to the Council Health Committee how many people were actually being killed by these superbugs.
Mark Clarke believes strongly that local people have a right to know how safe our local hospital really is. So he used the Freedom of Information Act to force St George’s to own up to the death rate from MRSA and the other deadly superbug, C Difficile.
The results were shocking. 116 avoidable deaths over three years were owned up to by St George’s. The results made national news.
As a direct result of the coverage St George’s Hospital management made a full report to the Hospital Board. Mark met with the Chief Executive to discuss plans to clean up the hospital. The Hospital agreed to report death rates every month to the Hospital Board and also to the Council Health Committee.
Never again will the public be kept in the dark about death rates from superbugs at our local hospital. This exposure will ensure that these terrible and avoidable deaths always receive the focus that they deserve.
If you or your family have experience an infection from Superbugs at one of our local hospitals then Mark Clarke would like to hear from you. Email Mark in confidence with your experiences on mark@markclarke.net.