'Lapses in care' investigated after MRSA hospital death

The unnamed patient acquired the bacteria at Peterborough City Hospital

A hospital is investigating "lapses in care" after a patient died from MRSA.

The patient, who has not been named, was infected at Peterborough City Hospital in June 2022 and died.

Board papers said "there were lapses in care identified around wound care, and it is thought this was the portal of entry for MRSA into the bloodstream".

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) said this and other serious incidents "thankfully represent an extremely small number of patients".

NWAFT's board papers said that MRSA was listed as cause of death for the patient, who was being treated on orthopaedics ward B7.

"This case has now been declared a serious incident and is being investigated in line with trust policy," the board papers went on.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - or MRSA - is a type of bacteria resistant to many antibiotics

MRSA is a type of bacteria that can be resistant to several widely used antibiotics, meaning it can be more difficult to treat than other bacterial infections.

It is commonly found living harmlessly on human skin but it could cause severe illness if it gets deeper into the human body.

'Open and honest'

The same board papers detailed other serious incidents, including at Peterborough City Hospital, where 21 patients received an underdose of radiation treatment for cancers between June 2021 and May 2022.

NWAFT said on that case to date there had been no harm to patients.

The trust also said Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations were ongoing after a female patient climbed out of a first floor window at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, in September 2021.

It said the patient had recovered well and is at home with family.

Jo Bennis, chief nurse, said: "It was really important that the trust has a culture of being open and honest when it makes mistakes so that we can learn from them.

"Whilst we would not want any patient to come to harm there are incidents that occur where we have not as an organisation delivered the best care possible.

"We see a large number of patients in the organisation each day through a variety of pathways, the serious incidents mentioned in the board papers from our last public meeting thankfully represent an extremely small number of patients, but we believe that it is very important to be completely transparent."