Fine Gael has said that everyone entering or leaving hospitals, nursing homes or GP practices should be made to wash their hands with alcohol hand gel, as part of a new plan to tackle MRSA infection.
The party has also proposed that hospital visiting hours be restricted until the MRSA problem is dealt with. It said that unnecessary visits to hospitals must be avoided.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the incidence of MRSA had reached "national crisis proportions". He said MRSA levels in Ireland were higher than in other European countries and that a national response involving decisive action and acceptance of responsibility was now needed.
Fine Gael proposed that in the short term a staff member be assigned to duty at the door of every hospital, nursing home and GP surgery to insist that staff and visitors washed their hands on entering and leaving.
Fine Gael health spokesman Liam Twomey said visiting hours had to be enforced or restricted. He said that at present people could come in, morning,noon and night.
In the medium term the party said that a senior staff nurse should be appointed with full responsibility and accountability for all aspects of hygiene in hospital wards and units. It proposed that infection control "flying squads" be established to conduct regular unannounced inspections. Fine Gael also argued that contract cleaners should have performance-related pay linked to the achievement of official standards.
Former patient Áine O'Mahony, who contracted MRSA in hospital, said at the launch of the Fine Gael document that she had seen surgeons examining the wounds of different patients without washing their hands in between.
A spokesman for Minister for Health Mary Harney said several initiatives were in place, including the recruitment of infection control staff and a scheme for the public to notify the Health Service Executive about hospital hygiene issues.
