Canberra hospitals have the highest rate of golden staph infections in the country, data has shown.
The ACT was the only jurisdiction to report a rate of infections higher than the national benchmark, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
But Canberra Health Services has argued it uses a different reporting method to the institute and other jurisdictions and this means the data is "not directly comparable" and that comparing jurisdictions was "not advised".
There were 1.08 cases of golden staph infections for every 10,000 patient days over the 2021-22 year across Canberra hospitals, representing a total of 45 cases across the year.
The national average for infections was 0.73 cases and the benchmark set by the institute is no more than one case for every 10,000 patient days.
The rate was especially high at Canberra Hospital where there were 1.26 cases of golden staph infections reported for every 10,000 patient days.
Canberra Hospital also reported a much higher rate of infection compared to its peer hospitals with the average infection rate for major hospitals being 0.92 cases.
At the former Calvary Public Hospital Bruce the rate was 0.99 for 10,000 patient days, which was also higher than its peer hospital average of 0.77 cases.
Golden staph bacteria is commonly found on the skin in and around the mouth but it can cause severe infection if it enters the body through a cut in the skin.
Golden staph infections are spread by skin-to-skin contact or through contaminated surfaces. Patients can get a staph infection through catheters or tubes entering the body or through surgical wounds.
Infections can result in a range of conditions, including meningitis, pneumonia or endocarditis.
Opposition health spokeswoman Leanne Castley highlighted the data and said it was an "indictment" on the territory government.
"This is another nation lagging low for Canberra's public health system under the Barr-Rattenbury government," she said.
"This is serious. Golden staph can prolong a patient's hospital stay and carries a high risk of death."
A Canberra Health Services spokesman said the wellbeing and safety of staff and consumers was of the highest priority.
"We report and manage all [golden staph] bloodstream infections in Canberra Health Services facilities in line with best practice national guidelines," the spokesman said.
"This includes following all procedures and standards on infection prevention and control, hand hygiene, insertion and management of cannulas and midline catheters, aseptic technique, and central venous access device management."
The spokesman also claimed the ACT could not be compared to other jurisdictions due to different data collection methods.
"Please note that data reported to AIHW from Canberra Health Services on this matter uses a different reporting parameter and may be different to how other jurisdictions report this data. Therefore it is not directly comparable," he said.
The spokesman also said Canberra Health Services includes "non-patient" infections and other jurisdictions may not include these.
"This methodology results in an increase in the numerator for CHS and caution should be applied when comparing to other sites or jurisdictions," the spokesman said.
The institute said differences between states and territories could reflect differences in surveillance and validation processes.
More recent data for golden staph infections has not been reported by ACT Health following the implementation of the digital health record.
The government has said data was unavailable due to digital health record as processes for the collection and collation of service data were still under development.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
