Published: 9 February, 2012
by TOM FOOT

AN accountant says he has cut himself off from some of his closest fam­ily for more than 10 years because he is worried about infecting them with MRSA.

Patrick Burgess, who lives in Somers Town, was put in an isolation ward after he contracted the “superbug” in the Royal Free Hospital in 2001.

The 68-year-old was discharged four months later, after a serious operation, but a test last month found he was still carrying the bacteria.

He claims he has had contradictory advice from health experts – including his GP – and has begun to believe the MRSA scare was “all a big con”.

Mr Burgess said: “When I got MRSA I was basically locked away in a cupboard and they couldn’t even have my medical notes in the room with me. There was a big taboo about it all.

“My wound is still open, it has been for 10 years. But no one seems to be that bothered.

“I just want to know whether I can see my niece’s baby, or not. My niece has got the hump. Her boy wants to see Uncle Pat. But I don’t know whether it’s all right [to see him] or not. [I feel as if I] should be walking round like an old bell leper.”

The first thing Mr Burgess knew about his perforated duodenal ulcer was when he woke up in a ward at the Royal Free. The ulcer had burst in his stomach causing him to pass out on the floor of a Somers Town pub he had been auditing two days earlier.

His visible lump, an open wound he has to dress himself each day, is the remnant of an hor­rific injury sustained in the Royal Free. The contents of his stomach burst through a surgical wound and onto his lap while he was sitting on a commode.

He said: “I asked the nurse for a priest – I thought that was it, I thought I was about to settle up.”

NHS London advice is that MRSA does not “usually” affect healthy people, including pregnant women, children and babies. Hospitals monitor infection rates because of the dangers it can cause to people with open wounds.

Derek Butler, chairman of campaign charity MRSA Action UK, said: “I feel the gentleman has lost 10 years with his family through no fault of his own, but because someone who was supposed to care for him let him down, and that is unforgivable.

“There is a small chance that if his wound is weeping and it is MRSA, then if any of his family visit him and they have open wounds, or broken skin in any form, then it is possible for them to pick up the bacteria.

“However, if the wound he has is covered and the family are aware of the precautions to take, then there is no real risk to them.”

He added: “There is no standard regarding the situation this gentleman finds himself in because each hospital, doctor and nurse will be different at different establishments, this is despite the advice from the Department of Health.”