Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data released last week shows the rate of golden staph infection at ACT public hospitals – led by the Canberra Hospital – has outstripped all other jurisdictions in the two years to 2021-22.

Shadow Minister for Health, Leanne Castley, said the ACT is the only jurisdiction which exceeds the national benchmark for golden staph infections and this was an indictment of the Labor-Greens Government.

“Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (SABSI) are an important measure of the quality of care provided to patients admitted to hospitals.”

“In 2021-22 there were 45 cases in the ACT - 35 at the Canberra Hospital, 9 at Calvary and 1 case at the University of Canberra Hospital which is a purpose built rehabilitation centre.”

“The Canberra Hospital had a rate of 1.26 cases of golden staph infections per 10,000 patient days – significantly higher than the national rate of 0.73; than its peer hospitals’ average of 0.92; and the national benchmark of 1.0.”

“Calvary Public Hospital’s rate was 0.99 cases of golden staph per 10,000 patient days, while the University of Canberra Hospital’s incidence was 0.23.”

“This is another nation lagging low for Canberra’s public health system under the Barr-Rattenbury government.”

“While the Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith busies herself with stunt photo ops and thought bubbles, the public hospital system is declining around her.”

“This is serious. Golden staph can prolong a patient’s hospital stay and carries a high risk of death.”

Ms Castley said that, fortunately, of these 45 golden staph case in ACT public hospitals 42 were treatable with commonly used antibiotics and only 3 were resistant to commonly used antibiotics.

Staphylococcus aureus or ‘golden staph’ bacteria are commonly found on the skin and in the nose. A serious infection may occur if this bacteria enters a person’s bloodstream. These infections can be associated with hospital care and are often related to the use of indwelling medical devices or surgery.

Ms Castley said that the recent Budget papers contained no outcome for the incidence of golden staph infections at Canberra hospitals for 2022-23 because of the ongoing fiasco with the Digital Health Record reporting.

“It’s incomprehensible these figures couldn’t be provided, even manually. This Labor-Greens Government needs to stop spending on the Tram extension and put resources into quality of care and hygiene at our main public hospitals.”

On hand hygiene, monitored through hand hygiene audits, Canberra’s three public hospitals exceeded the national benchmark rate in the latest figures, but only the University of Canberra Hospital exceeded the national rate.