Shhhhh! but CHFT is quietly celebrating a major MRSA milestone.  We haven't had a case of bacteraemia for over a year - 386 days to be precise.  And that is a tremendous effort.

 When records first started  in 2006/07 we had 17 MRSA bacteraemia.  These are infections of the blood. These are different to cases on the skin as MRSA is carried on the skin by a third of the population) In 2015/16 we had 3.

Senior infection prevention and control nurse Jean Robinson, said it was difficult to pinpoint a single reason but an all-round commitment  from the Trust and all wards and departments and all our teams both clinical and non-clinical  to keep them at bay.

MRSA stands for...wait for it....methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus. It's an infection of the blood which gets into the body, usually via an invasive device so how they are inserted and monitored is key.

Jean said: " Since they started to record cases there is much heightened awareness right across the Trust. It is a combination of everything - hand hygenie and our aseptic non-touch technique training - but as well as that it is our commitment to delivering quality care. This is given to all junior doctors at the start of their placements with us and is continually being rolled out across."

She reminded colleagues that where a cannula is inserted it needs to be monitored daily and removed when no longer is use.

So why the shhhhhh!?

Jean  added: " It is a  truly top achievement and everyone should be pleased but also not ease off in their commitment or get complacent. Otherwise it will be Sod's Law and....!"

**MRSA and cDiff are the two major challenges in our hospitals. Hand hygenie is especially important in protecting against cDiff and all colleagues are reminded to be vigilant and ensure they are compliant.