MRSA group urges NHS to discharge patients earlier

The MRSA Working Group has advised the NHS to discharge patients with the infection earlier than usual amid the flu season in order to free up more beds.

According to the group, the number of MRSA infections could increase by 40 per cent this season as more people are admitted to busier hospital wards, reports the BBC.

However, these recommendations have been criticised by patient group MRSA Support, whose director Brian Sams questioned the safety of such an approach, especially as cases of H1N1 infections are expected to rise this season.

“What of these discharged people when they catch swine flu? That is probably a death sentence,” the news provider quotes him as saying.

The Department of Health has responded to these concerns by assuring that it will continue to adhere to the measures that have helped curb MRSA cases in recent years.

MRSA, an abbreviation of meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a common skin bacterium that is resistant to a range of antibiotics.