Tallaght Hospital closes two wards after serious superbug outbreak

Tallaght Hospital was forced to close two wards last month after an outbreak of the superbug, CRE.

According to reports, several adult patients were found to have the Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae infection.

Confirmed by Tallaght Hospital staff in August, the outbreak forced the closure of both the Gogarty and Crampton wards.

Closing the wards has meant some overcrowding in Tallaght Hospital, with INMO Trolley Watch figures showing there were 27 patients on trolleys in the hospital yesterday.

The hospital is now monitoring a third ward for the outbreak, and has implemented certain procedures to contain it.

CRE is not a threat to most patients who have a healthy immune system.

According to the HSE, “In most people, CRE bugs are harmless and do not cause infection. However, if a patient is prone to infection and the infection is caused by CRE, it can be difficult to treat because many of the commonly used antibiotics will not work against CRE.

“CRE is carried by patients, healthcare staff or visitors, either harmlessly or if they are infected with it.

“It can spread between patients through direct contact with each other or by touching items or surfaces that the person with CRE may have touched such as bed rails, toilets or equipment.

“As patients in hospital are much more vulnerable to infection than patients in their own homes, special precautions are required to prevent the spread of CRE between patients in hospital.”

Tallaght Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department, for both paediatric and adult patients remains open.