DIRTY BRITISH HOSPITALS CLAIM ANOTHER VICTIM

Though they are trying to wriggle out of it, of course

One of the Australian survivors of London's bomb blasts has been hospitalised again and risks having her foot amputated after becoming infected with Britain's most notorious hospital superbug. The tragic double misfortune struck NSW woman Alison Sayer, 36, last week as she was recuperating at home in London. Ms Sayer's right knee was shattered on July 7, when she was blown out of her Underground train carriage by the force of suicide bomber Mohammad Sadique Khan's explosives. She spent 10 days in St Mary's Hospital in London, and was discharged a fortnight ago. But a gash on her left ankle, which had been stitched and treated at the hospital, became increasingly inflamed and painful. Ms Sayer's specialist diagnosed the widely feared MRSA bug — better known in Australia as golden staph — which is a major killer in British hospitals.

Now being treated in a private London hospital, Ms Sayer has undergone several operations to have the infection cut out. Doctors have told her family there is a danger her foot may need to be amputated. Ms Sayer's sister, Sydney nurse Amy Gent, has just returned to Australia from London after caring for her sister. "Alison was sort of glad to be home; she's not impressed to be back in hospital," Ms Gent said.

The MRSA bug is the scourge of British hospitals. Ms Gent said she had been worried about the open ward in which her sister was kept during the week after the bombing. "My sister and I thought it might have been from the shower … it didn't seem to be cleaned very often," she said. St Mary's Hospital yesterday told The Sunday Age: "We are very sorry to hear that Ms Sayer has contracted MRSA during what must already be a traumatic time for her. "However, based on the information we have been given today, it is difficult to draw the conclusion that she contracted MRSA during her six days with us. "Our record of her care does not indicate she was displaying any symptoms of being MRSA-positive at the time of her discharge 13 days ago."

MRSA can be picked up anywhere, including in the community. An estimated 30 per cent of healthy adults and children carry a form of the bacteria on their skin or in their nasal passages. The hospital said it had introduced a new infection-control policy dictating that patients should have only two visitors at their bedside at any one time. The policy, it said, was difficult to enforce at the time of the July 7 bombings.

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation. Both Australia and Sweden have large private sector health systems with government reimbursement for privately-provided services so can a purely private system with some level of government reimbursement or insurance for the poor be so hard to do?

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