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We will deal with the
We will deal with the challenge of MRSA. Infections acquired in hospital
are not new.The time to destroy MRSA was in the early 1990s –
when only five per cent of the bacteria were resistant to antibiotics. At
that time the Tory government did not even keep records about the
incidence of MRSA and were forcing hospitals to contract out cleaning
services.We were the first government to publish statistics on the
problem. Now, thanks to the tough measures we have already taken,
including the end to a two-tier workforce for contracted-out cleaning
services, MRSA rates are on their way down. But there is still some
way to go.We all want clean hospitals, free of infection.We have already
reintroduced hospital matrons and given them unprecedented powers
to deal with cleanliness and infections in their wards;we shall reinforce
this by consulting on new laws to enforce higher hygiene standards