The Prime Minister has announced that infection rates on hospital wards will be published online on a weekly basis.

The Daily Telegraph reports that David Cameron has ‘insisted’ that patients be given more information about hospital-acquired infection rates, which are responsible for around 8,000 deaths annually.

The new ratings will be announced as part of Mr Cameron’s plans to show how taxpayers’ money is being spent and what is being achieved.

Currently, infection rates are released on a monthly basis for each hospital trust, with rates in up to three hospitals in each trust being revealed.

The new plans would eventually see infection rates on every hospital ward being published online weekly, to enable prospective patients to assess the rates of bugs such as MRSA and C difficile at the hospitals they are to be treated at.

Some critics say the move will cause more administrative red tape for hospital staff – and could mean that patients refuse to be treated at hospitals with high infection rates.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is expected to announce the plans on Wednesday (02/06/10), however.

David Cameron has conceded that the information on hospital bugs would not be ‘perfect’; however, the first publication of the data will feature 12 weeks of infection rates at individual hospitals and will be available at the government website www.data.gov.uk.

The weekly publication detailing hospital-acquired infections at individual hospitals will be launched in July – and ministers eventually hope to be able to publish details of infection rates for every hospital ward in the country.

Mr Lansley said:

‘It will let people make meaningful choices about different hospitals.’

If the scheme is successful, it might be expanded so that every trust would have to publish details on other healthcare- and hospital-acquired infections, such as E coli.

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