£10m vow to tackle superbug

The Tories today promised a £10million testing programme to help eradicate the MRSA superbug from hospitals.

Tory leader Michael Howard said the money would allow all NHS hospitals to introduce state-of-the art technology which could identify MRSA in just a few hours.

The new testing regime is part of a 10-point plan put forward by the Tories to tackle the problem of hospital infections.

This includes giving matrons the power to close infected wards, ensuring hospital trusts commit to written standards and publishing details of MRSA infection rates.

Mr Howard pointed out that MRSA was not included in any of Labour's 277 pledges for a third term.