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MRSA cases result in hospitals facing spot checks

The NHS is facing spot checks to make sure hygiene standards are up to scratch.

The Healthcare commission is to go into 120 NHS trusts unannounced to check cleanliness and hygiene standards in hospitals.

The Healthcare watchdog has been awarded new powers under the Health Act 2006 to order trusts to improve their standards.

In the ten years it has taken for these unannounced checks to take place, deaths from MRSA have quadrupled.

The NHS has struggled to meet the government's target of halving MRSA superbug rates between 2004 and 2008.

Clostridium difficile cases on the rise

Cases of MRSA are falling, but Clostridium difficile is becoming more common with 55,681 cases among the over-65s in 2006, which is up 8% on the year before.

The watchdog, which will mainly focus on hospitals, will examine whether the right management structures and infection control teams are in place.

The inspectors will be checking that patients with infections are isolated properly and all the correct hygiene procedures such as hand washing are put in place.

Any hospitals which fail to meet the hygiene criteria will be required to produce an action plan to target their weak areas.

But if this does not resolve the issue, the Healthcare Commission can serve an "improvement notice" which can lead to direct intervention from the health secretary.

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