SECOND BABY KILLED BY NEGLIGENCE ABOUT CLEANLINESS IN A LOS ANGELES PUBLIC HOSPITAL

Very reminiscent of the problems in Britain's dirty public hospitals

A baby died Monday after being infected by a virulent bacterium during an outbreak that prompted officials at an East Los Angeles hospital to stop accepting patients to its neonatal intensive care unit. The infant was among five patients at White Memorial Medical Center who were infected by Pseudomonas aeruginosa - a common but potentially deadly bacterium for those with weak immune systems. An autopsy was under way, although hospital officials said it was likely the baby died because of the infection. The infant is the second to die since the bacterium was detected Nov. 30. No autopsy was conducted on the first baby, although the infection was believed to be the likely cause of death, said Dr. Rosalio Lopez, the hospital's chief medical officer. "We want to express our sincere sympathies to the families affected, and ensure the public that we take the health and safety of our patients very seriously," Lopez said in a telephone interview, adding he was confident the outbreak has been contained.

The source appears to be improper cleaning of laryngoscope blades, a piece of medical equipment used to insert breathing tubes, hospital and county health officials said. In a letter to the hospital Monday, county officials noted a preliminary investigation had determined the blades had previously been disinfected by a "central supplier" as part of a manufacturer recommendation. For reasons not immediately known, the practice was changed in March and the unit's staff began cleaning the instruments. "These blades may have become contaminated due to inconsistent and improper cleaning practices that were in place between March and December 4," said Dr. Laurene Mascola, director of the county's acute communicable disease control unit, which is investigating the outbreak.

The others who were infected by the germ were treated with antibiotics and "continue to improve," Lopez said. They include two older children in the pediatrics intensive care ward who were not infected by the equipment, he said. The source of their infection has yet to be determined.

The hospital temporarily ceased new admissions to its pediatrics intensive care ward last week. It was back to normal operations Monday after hospital officials sterilized the unit and found no further trace of the bacterium. The hospital was working with county and federal health officials to determine when to reopen the neonatal intensive care unit, which was closed to new patients Dec. 4, Lopez said. He said most babies treated in the unit are either born prematurely or have multiple medical problems. In her letter to the hospital, Mascola said there was no evidence of further contamination and recommended reopening the unit.

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MORE DETAILS OF THE LATEST NHS SUPERBUG DISGRACE

As I predicted on 19th, it was due to a failure of asepsis -- negligence about cleanliness, in other words

The husband of a nurse who became the first person in Britain to die from a new deadly strain of MRSA contracted in hospital described the heartbreak yesterday of bringing up their newborn baby alone. Maribel Espada died four days after undergoing an emergency Caesarean at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where she had worked as a nurse for four years.

Health experts believe that Mrs Espada had previously picked up the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-MRSA bug while working at the hospital. But it got into her bloodstream during the emergency operation last September.

Wen Espada, 30, told The Times that he was devastated at the thought of bringing up their son, Arwen, alone. "This was our first child and the only comfort I have is that Maribel got to see him and spent six days with him before her death. The doctors never mentioned MRSA and they had not mentioned to my wife that there had been an outbreak of MRSA even though she worked at the hospital."

Mr Espada, a warehouse worker, said that Maribel became ill four days after Arwen was delivered on September 20. Doctors told Mr Espada that his wife had died of an infection, and a postmortem examination confirmed PVL-MRSA.

One other patient at the hospital is known to have died there in March from the bacterium and an internal investigation carried out after Mrs Espada's death has identified a further nine cases at the hospital. Mr Espada said that he had instructed a firm of solicitors. "If the hospital has tried to cover this up, they should be made to pay for it," he said. The University Hospital of North Staffordshire refused to comment on Mrs Espada's death.

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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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