Subsequent to a point prevalence survey that was undertaken by the Health Quality and Safety Commission (Te Tāhu Hauora) in 2021, further research was undertaken from this data set to determine the economic burden of healthcare associated infections (HAI) in New Zealand public hospitals.
Key findings include 76,861 excess bed days, 699 deaths with 9,371 years of life lost (YoLL) from HAI in 2021.
The economic burden in 2021 was estimated a $955m, comprised of $121m for lost bed days, $792m for YoLL, and $43m in ACC claims.
The paper indicates that HAI bloodstream infections were a significant contributor to the number of HAI related deaths and YoLL in 2021.
The media report regarding this paper can be found by clicking here.
The full published paper, which is open access and free to view can be found by clicking here.