By Healthcare Facilities Today

Australian National University medical school professor Peter Collignon says the number of golden staph cases in the Australian Capital Territory could be cut by half by boosting simple infection control procedures A report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published in December showed the rate of golden staph infections in the ACT had risen two years in a row, according to an article on the Canberra Times website.

Institute researchers found the ACT had gone from the nation's best performer on in-hospital infection rates to its worst in just three years, the article said.

Collignon, an infectious diseases expert at ANU, said he believed half of the cases of golden staph - a dangerous bacterial infection - in the ACT were preventable.

Last year the territory had an infection rate of 1.3 per 10,000 days of patient care, while all other states and territories had rates of 1.0 or lower.  Comparatively, in 2010-11 Canberra had an infection rate of 0.9 per 10,000 days of patient care, the lowest rate in the country, the article said.

Collignon said the figures might appear alarming but there was no cause for concern. The professor said a continued focus on simple measures including more hand washing and tighter procedures on intravenous lines could make a big difference, according to the article.

Collignon said he believed there needed to be outside pressure because it encouraged healthcare workers to do better.

''You improve your numbers and that's better for patients that come to those hospitals,'' he said.

Read the article.