THERE were no hospital acquired infections reported in West Herts hospitals throughout the whole of September.

It’s the first time in many years that no cases of C.difficile or MRSA were reported across Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans hospitals for an entire month.

The last two years have seen a major decrease in West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust’s infection rates and it now sees less C.difficile cases in a year than it previously had in a single month.

Medical director, Colin Johnston, said: “The Trust is delighted that it was able to report no cases of hospital acquired infections throughout September, which is a glowing testament to the massive team effort of all those working in the Trust.

“We’ve developed a multi-disciplinary approach to cleanliness throughout our hospitals over the past few years and the Trust’s Infection Control Team has dedicated itself to rooting out the causes of infection and stopping them at the source.

“Staff understand that infection control is everyone’s responsibility and patients and visitors have really embraced our strict infection control procedures, such as using hand gel before entering patient areas and not sitting on hospital beds.”

Jan Filochowski CEO added: “This is a significant achievement and there will be very few trusts in the country that have a completely infection free month in all the hospitals they manage. However, we are not complacent and we must remain vigilant over the coming months.”