New Labour Success - C. Diff

Now it is not often that I think that the government should shout its success stories from the roof and indeed it is even rarer that I offer praise for the government but in this case I shall.

They like to claim that the NHS is safe in their hands:

Deaths relating to a severe form of infectious diarrhoea have risen by almost three-quarters, according to official figures released today.

The number of deaths involving Clostridium difficile rose by 72%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The number of death certificates in England and Wales that mentioned C diff infection rose from 3,757 in 2005 to 6,480 in 2006.

There you go, as they state at every opportunity that countless billions have been spent on the NHS, we can see that as a result some figures have shown a rapid rise as a direct result of government policies.

While deaths involving MRSA have levelled out - not fallen just leveled out - rates for C diff increased for both men and women. Age-standardised mortality rates for deaths involving C diff increased by 77% among males, and 66% among females, between 2005 and 2006.

Rates went up from 37 to 65.5 per million males, and from 38.6 to 64.2 per million females.

The disease has been on the increase in the UK for several years.

The number of reports increased from fewer than 1,000 in the early 1990s to 22,000 in 2002, 28,000 in 2003 and 44,488 in 2004.

But some of the increase in deaths involving the bacteria may be due to more complete reporting on death certificates.

Among deaths with a mention of C diff, the percentage for which it was the underlying cause has been similar - around 55% - each year since 1999.

C diff ranges from a mild diarrhoea to a very severe illness which can be fatal.

The more acute cases can result in ulceration and bleeding from the colon and, at worst, perforation of the intestine leading to peritonitis.

People most at risk are those who have taken strong antibiotics, which reduce their resources of "good" bacteria, and the elderly - more than 80% of cases are reported in the over-65s.

Remember the NHS is safe in the hands of New Labour as they keep telling us, just don't fall ill here in the New "Cool Britannia" as you may never leave hospital alive....

Meanwhile thinks get better for the glorious leader Brown....The Sun is reporting that:

"LABOUR has slumped to its lowest point since records began in the 1930s, a devastating Sun poll reveals tonight.

And the Tories are enjoying their second biggest poll lead in history....

The Sun’s survey puts the Tories on a massive 49 per cent with Labour trailing at just 23 per cent - a gap of 26 per cent."

Happy days.... :-)

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