A TASK group which has nearly halved the number of patients contracting one of the most common infections to be spread in hospitals and care homes has been handed a national award.

The Worcestershire Health Economy C-diff Task and Finish Group was named the Infection Prevention Society’s National Team of the Year on Tuesday, September 30.

The team made up of staff from Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and what are now the county’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) along with Public Health England was set up in 2012 and has successfully driven down rates of the Clostridium difficile - otherwise known as C-diff - in the county, with 40 per cent fewer cases in 2013-14 than in the previous year.

Initiatives developed by the group include additional education for staff and patients and improved practices across hospitals, care homes, doctor’s surgeries and other sites across the county.

Director of nursing at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust Sandra Brennan said she was delighted by the accolade.

“This is a really positive example of the whole health system here in Worcestershire coming together,” she said.

“It was acknowledged that to reduce instances of Clostridium difficile in our services meant everyone working together and we are delighted that this national acknowledgement recognises the work that has been put in and the effect it is having on reducing incidences of this infection.”

Chief nursing officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Lindsey Webb said the win was “well-deserved” and congratulated everyone involved.

“This is a great tribute to the team’s hard work,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the county’s three CCGs, executive nurse for Redditch and Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest Jo Galloway also welcomed the award.

“To be named as National Team of the Year is a great honour and has been made possible by the whole health system in Worcestershire coming together to tackle Clostridium difficile,” she said.

C-diff, or Clostridium difficile, is a bacterial infection affecting the digestive system and is most commonly seen in people who have been treated with antibiotics.

Symptoms include diarrhoea, high temperature and abdominal cramps and the infection can be life-threatening.

It spreads very easily and can thrive on surfaces which have not been cleaned.