There has been an improvement in the annual number of golden staph infections at the Canberra Hospital, with the latest figures showing infections are down by more than a third.
The latest report by the National Health Performance Authority shows 26 patients caught golden staph infections at the Canberra Hospital in the 2013-14 financial year, down from 41 cases the year before.
Golden staph is a bloodstream infection that proves fatal for between 20 and 35 per cent of patients who catch it.
Caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, it can be treated by antibiotics, but there are more serious antibiotic-resistant strains.
Health Minister Simon Corbell said hospital staff have had an ongoing focus on reducing rates of infection.
He said the infection rate of 1.05 was well below the national average for similar hospitals, of 1.28.
“That’s good news, it means the level of infection in Canberra’s hospitals when it comes to Staphylococcus is well below national accepted levels and highlights the high quality of care being delivered by our public hospital system,” he said.
‘Both potentially deadly and preventable’
Mr Corbell said the Canberra Hospital saw the rate of infection halved.
“It’s now at 1.05 per 10,000 bed days, that’s well below the Australian requirement of no more than two per 10,000 bed days and that’s a very good outcome,” he said.
At Calvary Hospital there were three golden staph infections in the 2013-14 financial year, the same as the previous year.
The report shows major public hospitals reported 88 fewer cases in 2013–14 compared to the previous year.
National Health Performance Authority chief executive Diane Watson said while the reduction was an improvement, it should be remembered that every healthcare-associated bloodstream infection was both potentially deadly and preventable.