C-diff closes hospital for months

The community hospital is based in the grounds of the Churchill Hospital

An Oxfordshire community hospital has been closed to new admissions for several months after an outbreak of a virulent bug.

The 24-bed Oxford Community Hospital was closed after four patients caught the Clostridium Difficile (C-diff) bug.

Seventeen patients receiving treatment are not allowed off the premises until they are officially discharged.

Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust said it was working to provide services elsewhere in the county.

C-diff is a bacterium that can cause mild or severe diarrhoea, or in some cases severe inflammation of the bowel which can be life threatening.

In a statement, the Primary Care Trust (PCT) said: "Patient safety is our top priority and, as a result of this outbreak, we need to re-provision services in a more appropriate environment.

"Oxfordshire PCT is therefore reviewing alternative facilities at our network of community hospitals."

Previous outbreaks

It said it had closed the hospital, which is situated on the site of the Churchill Hospital in Headington, after an "infection control investigation and assessment about the state of the building had taken place".

The PCT's director of provider services, Penny Astrop, said the hospital would remain closed for several months.

The hospital, which provides non-acute inpatient rehabilitation and care, suffered two previous outbreaks of C-diff in December and in February.

"All local stakeholders including staff, patients, families and carers will be kept fully informed as we explore these options for the longer term," the statement added.