WITH 33 recorded cases of MRSA over the last 12 months, a hospital Trust in Comet country has failed to meet its target of no more than 22. But the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which manages Lister, the QEII and Hertford County hospitals, still

WITH 33 recorded cases of MRSA over the last 12 months, a hospital Trust in Comet country has failed to meet its target of no more than 22.

But the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which manages Lister, the QEII and Hertford County hospitals, still saw a reduction of almost 40 per cent from the previous year's figure of 53 cases.

The Trust smashed its target of no more than 414 cases of clostridium difficile, recording 356 cases over the last 12 months. This is a 40 per cent reduction on the previous year's figure of 574 recorded cases.

Chief executive of the Trust, Nick Carver, said: "The last 12 months have seen a major improvement in our constant battle to reduce the infection risk posed to our patients by bacteria such as MRSA and clostridium difficile. That fight has involved every single member of staff across all our hospitals and has resulted in the biggest drops in infection rates since 2003/04.

This downward trend is real evidence of the hard work put in by our staff to combat healthcare-associated infections.

"There's more to be done but we've come a very long way in just one year, which is a great achievement for everyone.