Royal Victoria Hospital doesn’t mind going public with its infection rates.

The hospital posts its rates on potentially fatal diseases like Clostridium difficile on its website. This fall, other hospitals will have to follow suit, thanks to a provincial mandate.

Critics believe the province has covered up the number of deaths from the disease. The law comes after Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital conducted a review after an outbreak and discovered it had 62 deaths in a 20-month period.

“RVH strongly supports public reporting as another way hospitals can be open and transparent to our communities,” said Suzanne Legue, senior director of corporate communications. “We track our C. difficile cases on a daily basis, so we have an extremely good handle on the situation.”

Last year, the hospital had a five-month outbreak. The disease is quite common in hospitals and long-term care facilities, said Legue.

C. difficile comes from feces and occurs when antibiotics kill good bowel bacteria and allow it to flourish. Symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal pain.

The bacteria can spread to toilets, handles, bedpans and commode chairs. It spreads easily to their hands, after they touch infected surfaces, and mouth.

In 2007, there were 31 RVH patients who died that tested positive for the disease. Of those, seven deaths were hastened or caused by C. difficile, said Legue. It was a contributing factor to 11 deaths of seriously ill patients.

Last October, another unit-specific outbreak happened and the hospital was able to tackle it within a month, thanks to a 50-point action plan. The plan includes enhanced housekeeping, more frequent hand washing and public communication.

One factor shown to increase the spread of C. difficile is overcrowding, and RVH isn’t immune to it. Last year, the hospital suffered a “crippling bed shortage”, said Legue, as 8,000 patients were cared for in hospital halls.

While the hospital works on that issue, Legue said the new provincial protocol is welcome.

“We support any initiative that supports transparency and most importantly patient safety,” said Legue.

All Ontario hospitals will have to publicly report on C. difficile rates by Sept. 30. Once the policy starts, Legue said hospitals would track infectious diseases in a consistent and timely manner.

“By making those rates publicly available, patients will be able to make meaningful comparisons and can make informed choices.”

For more information about the local infectious disease rates, go to the link provided. 

E-Mail Janis Ramsay jramsay@simcoe.com