MRSA babies spark probe calls
Hospital moves to allay fears
Three newborn infants have all tested positive for MRSA at Letterkenny General Hospital in the past week
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A GROUP representing victims and relatives who caught the hospital infection, MRSA, has called for an investigation into how three babies contracted the infection at a hospital.
The three newborn infants have all tested positive for the antibiotic-resistant bacteria at Letterkenny General Hospital in the past week. It also emerged that another baby, born at the hospital four months ago, tested positive for the infection the day after being released.
The General Manager at Letterkenny General Hospital, Sean Murphy confirmed last night that the three cases of MRSA in babies at the hospital were connected and that the source had been identified. He said they were not linked to the previous case at the hospital four months ago.
He assured the public that everything that could be done had been done and there was no risk to expectant mothers.
The HSE said last night that as well as specialist cleaning, patients and staff within the maternity unit at the hospital had been screened and tests were ongoing in the unit to ensure it was MRSA-free.
Consultant microbiologist at the hospital, Michael Mulherin, said he "did not have any current concerns" about the health of the three babies.
Measures
But Rosemary Cassidy, a member of the Donegal branch of MRSA and Families Network, said in view of the earlier case measures should have been put in place to reduce the risk of the infection recurring or prevent it altogether.
"They know new-born babies are at risk. It has been confirmed to me that these babies have only been diagnosed in the past week.
"We already know of a baby who was diagnosed with MRSA four months ago, so what I am asking is how many other cases have there been in the meantime that we don't know about and what has the hospital been doing?" she asked.
According to the 'Rate my Hospital' survey on website Irish Health.com, 5pc of patients claim to have contracted MRSA or another hospital-acquired infection at Letterkenny General Hospital, but Ms Cassidy said the figures may even be higher.
Speaking of her shock at finding out that her newborn baby daughter had the infection, one young mother revealed how she and her two-day-old infant were swabbed as they left the hospital to go home.
"I got a call from my GP last week and he told me the baby had MRSA; I was MRSA negative. I was devastated," she said.
She added that no official explanation had been given as to how her baby daughter had acquired the infection. "I was told the ward I was in was high-risk. That came from a source at the hospital," she said.
- Anita Guidera
