Quebec hospitals more deadly than car crashes Canadian Press
UPDATED AT 9:22 PM EDT Thursday, Jun. 5, 2003 St-Hyacinthe, Que. � Deadly infections are on the rise in Quebec hospitals, claiming more lives every year than road accidents, health officials said Thursday. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people die every year after contracting infections in Quebec hospitals, an association representing Quebec microbiologists said at its annual meeting. The group was meeting in this community about 60 kilometres east of Montreal. The number of fatalities in Quebec increased by 70 per cent between 2001 and 2002, according to numbers released by the association. About 8,000 people die in Canada yearly of deadly infections they catch in hospitals. The Quebec association said it's especially worried about a bacteria usually found in hospitals that's particularly resistant to antibiotics. It predicted the number of infection-related hospital deaths could be dramatically reduced if the Quebec government spent $60-million on prevention measures, including the hiring of specially-trained nurses and renovating hospital rooms. The association also said nurses should be trained in disease prevention and it's also calling for the creation of special isolation units in hospitals. "I think we need to begin to rethink how we treat patients today in the hospitals," said Dr. Karl Weiss of Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. "For some time now, patients have been two, three, four to a room." The association said the prevention measures, if implemented, would cut the number of deaths due to hospital infections by one third. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com --- URG-L Aimeriez-vous obtenir une adresse de courriel @URGENCES.CA? Suivez-le lien http://www.groupegiroux.com/messagerie pour de plus amples informations.
