• From April 27 2005

Three patients caught a superbug in Kingston Hospital’s intensive care unit, forcing staff to keep new patients in isolation while the area was fully decontaminated.

The hospital confirmed that there was a cluster of cases of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), a form of antiobiotic-resistant bacterium that could have caused infection to already seriously ill patients.

One reader, worried about a relative in the unit, said: “I asked one of the nurses why the unit was so empty and she told me it was because of a superbug.

“She did not tell me what it was but said it was not MRSA.”

Admissions to the unit were accommodated in isolation rooms after the bug was detected, and the intensive care unit was intensively cleaned and disinfected.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “Over the weekend the area underwent full bio-decontamination using the latest technology, tested and approved by the rapid review panel for NHS technology.”

The unit was sprayed with hydrogen peroxide vapour which created a fog that covered the whole area, killing any germs.

The hydrogen peroxide was then extracted by a machine that ensured the environment was safe for immediate re-use.

There was a small reduction in bed capacity for approximately 36 hours while hospital staff carried this out. Patients were then admitted to the unit as normal.

A Kingston Hospital spokeswoman said: “Three patients were reported to the Department of Health and we continued to monitor the situation closely. VRE may cause those already vulnerable patients to develop infections.”

A Health Protection Agency spokesman said: “VRE which works on a similar principle to MRSA, is relatively uncommon although it will only cause infections in those people who are already seriously unwell.”

Only sporadic individual cases were isolated in the past at Kingston Hospital.

  • 50 YEARS AGO: April 28 1965

There were 27 teacher vacancies at schools in Kingston borough, 14 in primary and 13 in secondary, as reported by the Kingston Education committee. The chief education officer said that pending the appointment of permanent staff, the situation was being met by temporary, part-time and supply teachers.

  • 25 YEARS AGO: April 27 1990

Horrified residents in New Malden, who were plagued by rats, feared the vermin population is about to explode. A Liberal Democrat councillor called on the council for urgent help after seeing three rats crawling around his garden in the past three weeks and finding a dead rat on his compost heap.

  • 10 YEARS AGO: April 27 2005

A £15,000 investigation was launched to discover why the earth was moving in a Surbiton park. The Alexandra recreation ground was facing closure unless bosses could discover why holes were appearing in the ground, which was also the roof of a World War II air raid shelter.