‘You’re supposed to go into hospital to get better, but dad has come back even worse’

2:23pm Tuesday 16th October 2007

AN investigation is under way after an elderly man was struck down with super-bug' clostridium difficile and left fighting for his life.

Shirley Barker, of Tang Hall, in York, said she believed her father, Ronald Longfield, had contracted the bug at York Hospital when he was being treated for a chest infection.

She said she was "disgusted" that he had been discharged back to Fulford Nursing Home looking "like a skeleton".

But hospital bosses defended their treatment of Mr Longfield, stating there was no evidence the 82-year-old had contracted C difficile under their care.

Mrs Barker, 52, said: "I am so angry. Before he went in he was fine. Apart from the chest infection, he was doing great.

"He was looking so well and could sit up in the room with everybody else. Now we don't even know if he's going to survive.

"You're supposed to go into hospital to get better, but he's come back even worse."

Mr Longfield, who has lived at Fulford Nursing Home since 2005, was admitted to York Hospital at the beginning of July.

His daughter said: "About two weeks after being in there he began to lose a lot of weight and had really bad diarrhoea.

"They didn't do a test for C difficile, they said it was because of the antibiotics that he was on.

"He spent a month at the hospital and then they discharged him back to the nursing home.

"He only weighed seven stone and he looked like a skeleton."

When Mr Longfield failed to get any better, staff decided to send his specimen to York Hospital to be tested for C difficile. It came back positive.

Liz Hancock, the business manager at Fulford Nursing Home, confirmed Mr Longfield had been very ill when he was returned to their care.

She said: "We had concerns when he came back from the hospital and we sent off a sample to be tested for C difficile."

But deputy chief executive at York Hospital Mike Proctor said there was no evidence Mr Longfield had contracted the bug on the hospital ward.

He said: "York Hospital has an excellent record for C difficile. The target for us is to have a rate of less than one case for every 1,000 bed days and our current rate is 0.7.

"Our performance on C difficile compared to nationally is very good."

The scandal-hit Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals saw a rate of 3.69 infections per 1,000 bed days and the national average is 2.39.

Fact file

What is clostridium difficile?

It is a bacterium, pictured, found in the gut of up to three per cent of healthy adults and 66 per cent of infants, where it rarely causes problems.

It can cause illness when its growth goes unchecked. For example, treatment with certain antibiotics can disturb the balance of "normal" bacteria in the gut.

How does it make you sick?

It can cause no symptoms at all, mild or severe diarrhoea, or in some cases severe inflammation of the bowel which can be life threatening.

Who does it affect?

The elderly are most at risk, with over 80 per cent of cases reported in the over 65-age group.

How can outbreaks be prevented?

Rigorous cleaning with warm water and detergent is most the effective means of removing spores from the contaminated environment.