In Brief – Superbugs hit Ottawa hospital; Supervisor appointed to Windsor Hôtel-Dieu; Peterborough’s high mortality rate

Typically The Ottawa Hospital sees between 20-25 patients infected with VRE (vancomysin-resistent enterococci) each year. The total number of cases during the 2010-11 fiscal year is expected to be about 200. According to the Ottawa Citizen,  The hospital is blaming the outbreak of VRE, MRSA (methicillin-resistent staphylococcus aureus), and C Difficle (Clostridium difficile) on overcrowding at the hospital. It is difficult to isolate patients when there is a lack of private rooms. For now the hospital is limiting the number of visitors and increasing cleaning. … Windsor’s Hôtel-Dieu Hospital will have a supervisor appointed by the province come January. The Health Minister gave notice of the appointment following years of headlines indicating problems at the hospital, including pathology errors and needless mastectomies. The hospital is also being sued for $3.3 million by former spokesperson and foundation CEO Kim Spirou, who is claiming wrongful dismissal. Spirou is publicly alleging CEO Warren Chant pressured her to cover up wrongdoing at the hospital. Supervisors were far more common under former Health Minister George Smitherman. … The Toronto Star posted a comparable list of mortality rates for GTA-area hospitals today. Only one hospital was above the national average – Peterborough Regional Health Centre. The hospital standardized mortality rate is the ratio of actual deaths to expected deaths. A score of 100 represents the national average. Peterborough scored 110. Into this environment the Peterborough hospital is shedding workers to balance its budget. Unlike York Central or Muskoka Algonquin Hospitals, both of which recently received new funding added to their bottom line, the government has continued to maintain a hard line on Peterborough Regional.