How many patients each year have hospital-related infections, causing a growing concern about the NHS today?

How many patients each year have hospital-related infections, causing a growing concern about the NHS today?

• A. 150,000
• B. 300,000
• C. 450,000
• D. 600,000

Answer: (B)

Think about the scale of hospital infections as a measure of how big the NHS saw the problem to be. The NHS has long cited a large, not extreme, annual figure for hospital-acquired infections, and this sits with the middle option in the set. That size of the problem explains why infection-control measures—better hand hygiene, stricter sterilization, and careful use of antibiotics—have been such a priority. The other figures would either be too small or too large compared with the NHS’s commonly quoted estimate, so the middle option best matches the level of concern that has driven policy and practice changes.

Think about the scale of hospital infections as a measure of how big the NHS saw the problem to be. The NHS has long cited a large, not extreme, annual figure for hospital-acquired infections, and this sits with the middle option in the set. That size of the problem explains why infection-control measures—better hand hygiene, stricter sterilization, and careful use of antibiotics—have been such a priority. The other figures would either be too small or too large compared with the NHS’s commonly quoted estimate, so the middle option best matches the level of concern that has driven policy and practice changes.