Pat's Note: I was useless at science at school, still am, but I did
learn one thing:

You can't do science with dodgy data.

In the end the medical proffession is going to get very tired of being
given the run around by a gang of bent vets and their protectors.

http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Cdiff-superbug-39If-this-were.4383996.jp

C.diff superbug: 'If this were the motive it would be a scandal'


IT should be of great concern to all that pressure appears to be being
put on hospital junior doctors in Lothian to avoid citing the deadly
bug C.diff as a contributory factor in the death of a patient. 

There was alarm after the tragic events at the Vale of Leven Hospital
in Dumbartonshire earlier this year, where 18 out of 55 infected
patients died, and NHS Lothian is anxious that it is only recorded on
death certificates when there could be no ADVERTISEMENT other cause of
death.

A memo from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary clinical director Casey Stewart
to junior doctors, which has been passed to the Evening News, is
carefully worded. Although it does not forbid doctors citing C.diff as
the cause of death, it appears to caution them against doing so where
it is not solely responsible for the fatality.

Now one junior doctor has contacted the Evening News to say he was now
"afraid" to put C.diff on a death certificate for fear it might harm
his career. It was further claimed that the caution from the
Directorate of Medicine might lead to under-reporting, allowing
hospitals to record a drop in the number of serious cases without
addressing the issues. If this were to be the motive behind the memo
it would be a scandal.

NHS Lothian has been heavily criticised in the past for being one of
the health authorities with the worst record on hospital-acquired
infections. Since then improved hygiene measures have been introduced
and there is wider testing than in some health authorities of patients
under the age of 65. As a result, within the last month it was claimed
that the ERI and Western General now have one of the lowest death
rates from C.diff and other superbugs in the country. If so, it is
excellent news.

But if public confidence is to be maintained there can be no
suggestion that cases are not being properly recorded Hospitals are
now obliged to keep a mandatory tally of infections, whether they are
the primary cause of death or not, but there is a danger that a
dramatic reduction in recorded fatalities where C.diff is a factor
could lead to the importance placed on tackling it being down-played.

A wide gap between the number of recorded cases and the number of
deaths should be the aim, but death certificates should not be
manipulated to mask the true extent of an infection and if doctors
have to provide more extensive explanations as to how a patient died,
citing a combination of factors including C.diff, then so be it.
Doctors should not be afraid to tell the whole truth where they
believe a bug is a contributory factor. C.diff is too dangerous for
doctors to be afraid of recording its effects. Much is being done in
the war against hospital bugs and public confidence should not be
undermined for the sake of statistics.

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/