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Home › Topics › Infectious Diseases › Infections A-Z › Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAI) ›General Information on Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) ›  Patient Information Leaflets
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Patient Information Leaflets

Monitoring Surgical Wounds for Infection - Information Leaflet for Patients

The Health Protection Agency runs a national programme that measures rates of infection for different operations so that individual hospitals can compare their rates of infection with national rates of infection for that operation.

This information leaflet for patients includes the most commonly asked questions about surgical wound infection, information about the national programme for measuring rates of surgical wound infections, rates of infection for different operations and sources of further information.

Monitoring surgical wounds for infection (PDF, 122 KB)

You can order print copies of the leaflet (free of charge) from ssi@hpa.org.uk

MRSA - Information leaflet for Patients

MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is the name given to varieties of Staphylococcus aureus that have become resistant to an antibiotic that is commonly used to treat infections.  These strains are often resistant to other antibiotics as well.  MRSA has spread to most hospitals in the United Kingdom in the past 15 years. 

Patients may be concerned about how MRSA affects their treatment and about the measures taken to prevent its spread to the people around them - nurses, doctors, other patients, family and friends.

This information leaflet addresses the most commonly asked questions and includes a list of sources for further and more detailed information.  It was produced by infection control nurses Linda Watterson, Christine McDougall and Jennie Wilson, working with science communicator Marjorie Monnickendam and designer Jon White.  The text was developed taking into consideration all of the comments on the first edition of the leaflet (produced by the HPA in April 2003) that health care workers, patients, their families and friends had sent to the  HPA.  A draft of the leaflet was sent to infection control staff, who tested the leaflet with patients, and it was amended in light of comments from staff and patients 

MRSA - Information for patients (PDF, 169 KB)

Print copies of the leaflet are available free of charge from Hcai.amrdivision@hpa.org.uk

We welcome comments on the leaflet.

We also welcome suggestions for further patient information leaflets.

Please send your comments and suggestions to marjorie.monnickendam@hpa.org.uk.


Last reviewed: 7 July 2010