14/02/2008

Health Committee Targets Hospital Bug Deaths

Concerns over increasing numbers of deaths from hospital-borne infections are today being addressed with the heads of Northern Ireland's five health trusts questioned later about the outbreak of the hospital bug clostridium difficile.

The NI Assembly's Health Committee is also to ask the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Michael McBride, to explain how the problem is being tackled.

Since Friday two more deaths in the Northern Trust area have been linked to the hospital bug.

A total of 36 deaths in the trust are now being linked to C. difficile.

Last week, the Department of Health released interim figures which showed the infection was recorded on the death certificates of 77 people across Northern Ireland last year.

(BMcC)

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