8th May 2007 07:03
Synergy Healthcare PLC08 May 2007 Tuesday 8 May 2007 SYNERGY HEALTHCARE PLC ("Synergy" or "the Company") Pathology Laboratory Business Launches MRSA Screening Service Prospective Patients' Test Results Analysed in Two Hours Further Enhances Synergy's Infection Control Solutions Offer Synergy Healthcare plc (AIM: SYR), a leading provider of outsourced healthcaresupport services in the UK, Europe, Asia and South Africa, today announces thatits pathology laboratory business, JMJ Laboratories, has launched an MRSA(Methicillin Resistant Staphyloccus Aureus) screening service for hospitals,residential homes and care facilities. JMJ Laboratories was acquired by Synergyas part of its £180 million acquisition of Isotron plc which completed inJanuary 2007. Screening for the presence of MRSA within the healthcare sector is becomingincreasingly frequent in an attempt to reduce incidences of the disease.Screening for the presence of MRSA is a precautionary step which can prove vitalas 5-7% of patients entering hospitals have been shown to be carrying MRSA. Ifthey are identified in advance they can be treated in isolation. At JMJ Laboratories' microbiology department, swab samples taken fromprospective patients are analysed for the presence of MRSA. The swab is thenautomatically tested for the presence of MRSA. The process is very quick andhighly sensitive for the detection of MRSA 'bugs'. Results are then availableand can be returned electronically 2 hours later. The whole process from samplereceipt to electronic results back to the client is less than 4 hours MRSA kills approximately 5,000 people in the UK each year and there were 3,500episodes of MRSA reported between October 2005 and March 2006 alone. Richard Steeves, Chief Executive of Synergy Healthcare, said: "Synergy's historic strength in providing healthcare sterilisation anddecontamination services ideally placed us to develop infection control servicesand products. "The MRSA screening service we are launching enhances the infection controlrange of products we can now provide to the healthcare sector and strengthensour unique risk mapping and management offer. "The technologies exist to significantly reduce the incidence of MRSA and othersuperbugs in UK healthcare facilities if only they were applied in a consistentand holistic manner. Our risk mapping approach allows healthcare managements tooutsource responsibility for the reduction of risk to Synergy, confident in theknowledge that we have the products and experience to reduce the incidences ofsuperbug outbreaks." Dr Neil Carbarns BSc MB ChB FRCPath, Consultant Microbiologist for JMJLabratories, said: "Each year around 1 in 12 hospitalised patients contract a healthcare-associatedinfection. These are a contributory factor to around 3% of all deaths and are acolossal burden both in economic terms and in disruption to the smooth operationof giving care to patients. "MRSA remains one of the major causes of these infections and carries a higherthan normal risk of treatment failure. Its control is a serious task forhealthcare providers and although progress has been made in recent years, thereremains much to be done. "Intensive interventions including rapid screening techniques for MRSA detectionare expected to assist the battle against this particular superbug." For further information: Synergy Healthcare plc 07768 020202Dr Richard Steeves, Chief Executive 01332 387140Ivan Jacques, Finance Director Brewin Dolphin 0113 241 0130Mark BradyAndrew Emmott Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113David Yates / Ben Brewerton Note to Editors: Synergy Healthcare plc Synergy is one of the largest UK listed healthcare businesses. It is a leadingprovider of outsourced healthcare support services within the UK, Europe andAsia. It is a leader in sterilisation and decontamination of multi-use surgicalinstruments and single-use medical devices. Its services enable healthcareproviders to decrease risk and improve efficiency. The demand for outsourcedservices is growing rapidly. www.synergyhealthcareplc.com JMJ Laboratories JMJ Laboratories is a reputable provider of clinical pathology services and isCPA accredited. Not only is JMJ a market leader in the field of clinicalpathology but also in drugs of abuse testing. JMJ also holds UKASaccreditation for all appropriate tests. JMJ provides a service to clientsnationwide and the company has expanded due to its reputation for prime qualityservices delivered in a professional and customer-focused manner. www.jmjlabs.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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