Cases of the killer bug MRSA have more than doubled within Kingston Hospital NHS Trust since 2001, according to Department of Health figures released last week.

The increase in infections was the third worst of any general trust in the country, with 24 more cases in the last financial year than in 2003 to 2004.

The MRSA infection rate within the trust was 0.266 cases per thousand bed days, where a bed day is one person in hospital for one night.

London Assembly member for Kingston, Tony Arbour, said: "This shocking rise has not come about because of the staff, the blame lays with hospital managers and the Government. This obsession with waiting lists is creating pressure to cut corners. It's about time we started caring more about patients and less about headlines and spin."

The news is a major blow to the trust, which in April won the Oxoid Infection Control Team of the Year for its good practice, training and education programme.

Director of nursing at Kingston Hospital Janet Shepherd said: "We are disappointed with the figures, which do not reflect the hard work and effort we have made over the past 12 months to reduce MRSA.

"In particular we have introduced the Matron's Charter, which sets out 10 broad principles for delivering cleaner hospitals, launched the National Clean Your Hands campaign and introduced alcohol rubs for every member of staff, as well as having them by each bedside."

The figures were published last week at the same time as the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a damning report on attitudes towards MRSA.

In April the Comet reported that three patients had caught rare superbug Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus in Kingston Hospital's intensive care unit, forcing staff to keep new patients in isolation while the area was decontaminated.

In the financial year from April 2001 to March 2002, 23 patients contracted MRSA. This rose to 42 the following year and there were 66 in the year ending in March.

The hospital said it found several cases which were contracted elsewhere but treated at the hospital in Galsworthy Road, and expected recently completed work on the management of intravenous lines to have a positive effect on numbers.

Mrs Shepherd said: "We wish to reassure our community that we take MRSA very seriously. We will continue with these measures and are confident that the recent upward trend will start falling over the next year."

drankin@london.newsquest.co.uk