NHS hits target of halving superbug rates in hospitals

Hospitals are winning the war against a deadly superbug, figures reveal today.

Cases of MRSA have fallen by more than half in the past four years, the Health Protection Agency announced.

The Government has now exceeded its target of slashing infection rates by 50 per cent - a pledge made in 2004.

Gordon Brown today wrote to all NHS staff congratulating them on the figures, which come one year after he ordered a deep clean at every hospital in a bid to halt soaring infection rates.

The figures show that over the past year MRSA cases fell by more than a third, with 836 recorded between April and June compared with 1,306 in the same period last year. In London, 167 people had MRSA between April and June, compared with 238 last year. Six London hospitals - Great Ormond Street, Kingston, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the Royal Marsden and Royal Brompton, and Harefield - had no cases of MRSA in the latest figures.

Dr Graham Fraser, a consultant at the Health Protection Agency, said: "It is encouraging to see in London that so many trusts have reduced their levels of MRSA. This is down to a lot of hard work and these figures show that this work is making a difference."

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said the Government's strategy for tackling infection was delivering results, but it would not be complacent.

Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker admitted that some trusts were still falling short of targets to reduce MRSA.

Today's figures come after it was revealed that the number of deaths involving another superbug more than doubled in two years. The latest data on Clostridium difficile show a year on year rise in deaths since 2001, despite falls in the rate of infection.

Tory shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley accused the Government of spin for releasing the MRSA figures before the Labour Party conference.

Meanwhile, a bug-busting robot is being tested in London. Imperial College Healthcare is one of the first trusts to use the machine, which measures the dimensions of a sealed room then sprays a vapour containing hydrogen peroxide which kills bugs such as MRSA which are resistant to antibiotics.