HOSPITALS IN IKEA BID TO BEAT MRSA

HOSPITALS may be kitted out with IKEA-type plastic furniture in an attempt to fight MRSA.

A study has found that wipe-clean hard surfaces are less likely to carry deadly bugs such as MRSA than soft furnishings used in British hospitals.

A Government health expert sent to Denmark to see why infection rates are 40 times lower than in Britain found that both countries have much in common - except the type of furniture used. Fabric seating common in NHS hospitals cannot be cleaned easily. Christine Perry spent a month studying the Danish approach.

She said: "It is all very Scandinavian, IKEA-type furniture, with hard surfaces, plastic finishes, easy to clean."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Cleaning of furniture is an area we are looking at."

On Friday Dr Barry Cookson of the Government Health Protection Agency warned MRSA had become "endemic".

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