London hospitals worst for MRSA

London's hospitals are today revealed as having the country's worst record on MRSA.

And official figures reveal that the two hospitals with the highest rates of MRSA are both in London.

Guy's and St Thomas' was the specialist hospital with the highest infection rate of the superbug, while North Middlesex Trust was the worst general hospital.

They were named and shamed as the National Audit Office issued a highly critical report blaming a lack of hospital hygiene and poor working practices for the ongoing scandal of MRSA - which continues to kill 5,000 patients every year across the country.

It warns that:

Auditor-general Sir John Bourn said: "I am concerned that, four years on from my original report, the NHS still does not have a proper grasp of the extent and cost of hospital-acquired infection in trusts."

Department of Health figures showed infections caused by MRSA in England increased from 7,384 in 2002/03 to 7,647 in 2003/04 - a rise of 3.6 per cent. The highest rates of MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - were found at one of the country's most prestigious specialist hospitals.

Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Trust in London had the highest MRSA rate at 0.45 cases per 1,000 bed days - the official measurement of the extent of the problem.

Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust in London followed with an MRSA rate of 0.37, while King's College Hospital scored a rate of 0.35.

In the table of general hospitals, the worst was North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust in London with 0.33 cases per 1,000 bed days.

Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "People in hospital for treatment should not have to fear catching a possibly deadly infection while they are there."

The NAO report warned that the Government's own success in tackling overcrowding had added to the rise because faster throughput of patients is obstructing infection control.

It said hospitals were still over-prescribing antibiotics which leads to the bug that causes MRSA becoming increasingly resistant to the drugs.