Hospital infections, mostly due to poor infection control measures, affected nearly 8 000 Gauteng patients last year, most of them at Chris Hani Baragwanath, according to Gauteng Health & Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko.
In response to questions from DA shadow minister of Health Jack Bloom, she said in total, 7 457 patients had been affected across the public health hospitals.
The technical name for hospital-acquired infections is nosocomial, which refers to infections caught in hospitals that are frequently caused by organisms resistant to antibiotics, wrote Bloom in PoliticsWeb.
Weekly and monthly Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) surveillance records from the Department of Health revealed the following:
In 2022, 7 457 (6.4%) of 116 366 patients got nosocomial infections, of which 5032 were in the seven central and tertiary hospitals, as follows:
- Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital – 1 542 infections
- Steve Biko Hospital – 1 365 infections
- Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital – 1 157 infections
- Helen Joseph Hospital – 613 infections
- Kalafong Hospital – 337 infections
- George Mukhari Hospital – 312 infections
- Tembisa Hospital – 238 infections
The nine regional hospitals accounted for 1 617 (22%) of all hospital-acquired infections, ranging from 138 infections at Pholosong Hospital to 626 infections at Leratong hospital, more than double the next highest figure of 255 infections at the Rahima Moosa Hospital.
Among the 12 smaller district hospitals, Kopanong and Odi hospitals had the highest number of nosocomial infections: 194 and 176 respectively.
The most prevalent nosocomial infection is CRE/CPE, which are Carbapenem-resistant or Carbapenemase-producing bacteria causing various infections including urinalysis tract infections, wound infections, gastroenteritis, meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia.
There were 1 038 ESBL infections, which are resistant to penicillin, 980 cases of Acinetobacter Baumann MDR/XDR, and 584 cases of Clostridium Difficile, which inflames the colon and can be fatal.
Also of concern were 468 cases of Klebsiella pneumonia, which has killed babies in previous outbreaks.
Bloom said the figures indicate the need for tight infection controls and proper hygiene to cut hospital infections as much as possible.
PoliticsWeb article – 7457 patients infected in Gauteng hospitals (Open access)
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