Liz Lynne chairs meeting on healthcare in the European Parliament.

2.57.00pm GMT Wed 12th Nov 2008

Liz Lynne, Liberal Democrat MEP, today chaired a meeting on behalf of Health First Europe that aimed to address some of the most crucial healthcare problems within the EU.

The meeting focused on ways in which the EU can help solve some of the major issues affecting healthcare within the Member States including helping to prevent needlestick and sharps injuries and how best to combat the spread of MRSA and other Hospital Acquired Infections.

Needlestick injuries occur when a healthcare worker, or ancillary or support staff worker is accidentally pricked with a used needle. When this occurs there is a risk of the worker acquiring a bloodborne infection, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. There are currently an estimated 1 million such incidents across the EU every year.

This is in addition to the much publicised problem of Superbugs such as MRSA and C. Difficile that killed approximately 50 000 people in the EU in 2007 alone.

Speaking at the start of the meeting Liz Lynne renewed her calls for a European Code of Best Practice on healthcare that would allow Member States to share information more easily.

Liz said:

"Healthcare is not an area in which the EU can legislate, nor in my opinion should it be. However, all countries can learn from each other. This is why I support the creation of a European Code of Best Practice that will allow Member States to see what others are doing better and what we can improve upon.

"In Finland infections such as MRSA are almost unheard of, the UK needs to be able to examine what they are doing right and try to implement their procedures.

"I am delighted that the Commission is now bringing forward a communication on healthcare acquired infections, which is planned for the 26th November, but in my mind it is only through a code of best practice that we will at long last truly be able to address these issues."

ENDS

Notes:

Liz was joined by Jeremiah Mwangi, the Senior Policy Officer at the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations; Maggie Galbraith, the project manager for the European Union Network for Patient Safety and Katja Neubauer, the lead officer on patient safety and quality of care for the Directorate-General Health and Consumers.