Commercial specification water controls supplier, Bristan has welcomed the government’s recent commitment to a ‘new war on hospital superbugs’.

Following a startling rise in E.coli cases in England, the UK government has announced plans which Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt asserts will reduce the “enormous human pain and suffering” caused by hospital superbugs.

Key measures include a renewed focus on personal hygiene, hospitals having to publish E. coli rates in wards and a stricter inspection regime. In addition, the government has appointed a new national infection tsar, Dr Ruth May.

This activity follows research by the BBC which revealed that there were 40,000 cases of E. coli in England last year – an increase of 20% in the last five years.

Chris Tranter, Group Product Manager at Bristan Specification comments: “Sadly, recent years have seen an increasing number of headlines around hospital infections with many resulting in serious illnesses and, most tragically of all, fatalities.

“As such, it is very reassuring to see that the Government has announced a much more robust plan of attack which we can only hope will help to alleviate the risk of Health Care Acquired Infections (HCAI’s) once and for all.”

Bristan continues to champion the important role that a robust water supply infection regime can play in reducing infection count.

Central to this, it is recommended that hospitals conduct regular hot water flushes to ensure that all sentinel, supply and flow points remain uncontaminated from legionella and pseudomonas, both of which are water borne. With this in mind, Bristan’s latest generation of products, such as its H64 tap, have been designed to enable quick servicing whereby sentinel points can be flushed out to prevent any internal bacteria build up in a matter of minutes.

Tranter adds: “The reality is that hospital patients are already in an extremely vulnerable position, so they shouldn’t have the extra worry of contracting an infection while being treated for their illness. Now, with the government putting the issue of hospital superbugs firmly on the map, we should use this impetus to work collectively to help raise standards for the greater good.”

Bristan’s specification portfolio offers products designed to aid healthcare providers in their infection control regimes.