Staff at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals have been praised for doing a good job of ridding the trust of superbugs.
During April the trust, which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, was free from MRSA, clostridium difficile, known as c.diff, norovirus and flu, the board was told yesterday.
MRSA lives on the skin and can go deeper through wounds and burns, causing an infection.
C.diff can develop after a course of antibiotics, resulting in fever and stomach upsets.
Chief medical officer Dr George Findlay said: “This is extraordinary for a hospital dealing with so many patients.”
Trust chairman Mike Viggers said: “This is a reflection on the improvements and understanding around the hospital.”
He thanked staff, in particular, the estates and facilities team.
From February to April there was one never event – in March – when a person died after a nasogastric tube was misplaced.
This incident is now with the coroner after the hospital carried out a review.
During the past year the trust has experienced four never events – serious and preventable medical errors occurring during treatment.
One illness to cause issues for staff was measles after five infections which were declared an outbreak by Public Health England.
Every member of staff who came into contact with the infected patients was subject to contact tracking to contain the infection.
Chief nurse Nicola Ranger said: “We are waiting to see if there is any more national guidance.
“We are trying to encourage people to have the MMR vaccine if they have not had it as a child.”
