Hospital superbug deaths soaring despite controls

The death toll from hospital superbugs is rocketing. The number of patients dying from infections picked up on wards across England and Wales rose more than 15-fold within a decade.

The new figures come despite a massive campaign to tackle poor hygiene. Deaths from the most notorious killer bug, MRSA, soared from 51 in 1993 to 800 in 2002. The number of reported cases rose from 210 in 1993 to 5,309 in 2002, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

All hospitals now have infection control officers and provide antibacterial handwashes for staff to prevent superbugs spreading, but managers admit some doctors and nurses do not use them every time.

Critics say far stricter hygiene rules must now be introduced.

The latest figures show trends in hospital acquired infections from 1993 to 2002. In 1993, just 51 deaths in England and Wales were linked to MRSA.

The infection is known as a superbug because it cannot be treated with antibiotics. The majority of the deaths are among elderly patients.

Serious cases of MRSA increased by 5.2 per cent in London last year, with cases in some hospitals trebling.

Health chiefs insist the rise in deaths is not as dramatic as the figures suggest because strict guidelines mean more doctors now list MRSA on death certificates.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said: "These figures are unacceptable."