It was announced today in the National Health Performance Authority latest report: Australia’s major public hospitals have recorded a marked fall in the rate of healthcare-associated ‘Golden Staph’ bloodstream infections.

> Read the media release

The report states:

"The number of these potentially deadly infections fell by 100, from 1,721 in 2012–13 to 1,621 in 2013–14. The report shows major public hospitals reported 88 fewer cases in 2013–14 compared to the previous year."

“While the reduction of about 100 cases is an improvement, we should remember that every healthcare-associated bloodstream infection is both potentially deadly and preventable,” said National Health Performance Authority CEO Dr Diane Watson.

"However, the report also shows that large differences remain between individual hospitals, with patients still up to three times more likely to catch this bloodstream infection depending on the hospital where they receive care."

"The government-agreed target calls for a rate of no more than 2.0 healthcare-associated S. aureus bloodstream infections per 10,000 patient bed days for each state and territory."

“Differences in the rate of infection suggest there is an opportunity for hospitals to continue to learn from each other to lower infection rates.” said Dr Watson.

> More information on the NHPA website