Health Secretary Alan Johnson outlined today, the Government’s strategy ‘Clean, safe care,’ to tackle healthcare associated infections (HCAIs.)  

Following on from recently announced initiatives, including a new ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ dress code and requirement of every hospital to have undergone a deep clean by March 2008, the Strategy outlines further areas that the Department is leading on to support the NHS in the fight against HCAIs: 

• More infection control staff - Extra funding will allow local organisations to invest up to £45m on additional infection control staff.  This will mean every hospital trust in England will be able to recruit two infection control nurses, two isolation nurses and an antimicrobial pharmacist, who play a crucial role in cleanliness and infection prevention & control. As there is a shortage of trained staff in some areas, Trusts may use this money to recruit to infection control team posts and train up additional infection control nurses. 
• New antibiotics campaign - From February 2008, a new antibiotics campaign will be launched to remind the public, GPs and other doctors that using antibiotics is not effective on many common ailments.  The campaign will also highlight that inappropriate use of antibiotics can increase the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of infections and that prudent prescribing is therefore required. 
• Hospitals will receive more money earmarked to tackle infection - The national tariff uplift includes a specific element to tackle infection, meaning that trusts have additional resources at their disposal.
•  Additional fines for trusts not improving infection rates – as set out in December's Operating Framework for 2008/09, the new national contract will allow PCTs to fine Trusts that are not hitting local targets on Clostridium difficile improvement.  This is over and above the fines that the new Care Quality Commission will be able to place on Trusts that are in breach of the hygiene code.
• Promoting innovations – a range of programmes designed to accelerate the development and uptake of new technologies.
• Guidance on HR procedures to be developed in conjunction with Trade Unions – including the importance of induction and training on infection prevention and control for staff.
• A cleaning summit held by the NHS Chief Executive – focussing on cleaners as part of the solution to infections and cleanliness and not part of the problem 

David Cameron’s plans to fine hospitals was criticised by the British Medical Association who said it would put hospitals off treating the most vulnerable patients.

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GP committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "That means that what will happen is that patients will be selected so hospitals won't admit people who look like they might get a complication afterwards - that means people who are chronic sick, people who have various cancers.

"How are you going to manage people on chemotherapy, who often get infections during the course of their treatment? Are you just not going to have them in the hospital?"