METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS FREE ELECTIVE ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

Purpose of Study- To deliver high quality and high volume major joint replacement surgery through rigorous infection control and reduce both infective complications and late cancellations.Deep infection complicating arthroplasty surgery carries a heavy fnancial and emotional burden on any orthopaedic service. The cost of hospital acquired infection is estimated at £1 billion per year 1 by the National Audit Office.Healthcare associated infection is an area currently under great scrutiny. Each NHS trust will have an Inspector of Microbiology, who will ensure the co-ordination of information required to diagnose healthcare associated infection.The Alexandra Hospital, Redditch has developed a dedicated elective orthopaedic ward free from multi resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). that delivers high quality and high volume major joint replacement surgery through rigorous infection control.Between October 2001 and December 2002, the Alexandra hospital had an infection rate of 0.21% for total knee replacemen...