From February 10, 2006

The daughter of a woman who died from MRSA spoke of her disgust as Kingston Hospital was ranked the third worst in the country for tackling the superbug.

League tables published by the Health Protection Agency placed Kingston third from bottom out of 173 hospitals in the country.

Bridy Peach, whose 72-year-old mother Sheila Condron died from MRSA at the hospital on November 12, 2005, was disgusted at the levels of hygiene in the hospital.

She claimed the family only discovered she had the infection by reading her case notes.

She said: “The latest figures are no surprise it’s disgusting.

"I would never step foot in that hospital again.

"My mother was diabetic and the staff would leave cotton wool, needles and blood in her bed and on the floor of her room.”

The hospital had a long history of problems with cleanliness and then Kingston and Surbiton MP Edward Davey had been campaigning to raise the standards.

He said: “I know there has been a lot of hard work to tackle MRSA at the hospital but that simply makes these figures even more disappointing.

“When people go to their local hospital, they want to get better, not catch infections. This must be seen as a wake up call to the Kingston team – they should review everything they are doing to combat MRSA.”

Kingston Hospital’s chief executive Carole Heatly pointed out that the number of cases of the superbug had fallen in recent months but said she was “deeply disappointed” at the figures.

She said: “We have been doing everything we can to combat MRSA but it is a complex issue. We have a very high number of emergency admissions and we don’t get the chance to screen them.”

She said other factors contributing to MRSA's spread the spread of MRSA included included the use of intravenous drips and antibiotics, an ageing population and older hospital buildings.

A report by the Patients Association in November 2005 found fewer than half of doctors were routinely using hand gels, despite MRSA guidelines advising them to do so. The survey also found worrying gaps in patient screening and provision of cleaning services.

Medical director for Kingston Hospital NHS Trust John Wong said dealing with MRSA was a priority.

He added: “In July we signed up to the government’s Saving Lives initiative, designed to support NHS Trusts in reducing healthcare associated infections such as MRSA. We have also implemented our own action plan at the trust which involves managing intravenous lines.”