Deaths from hospital superbug C.diff soar by a THIRD in just one year

The number of infections of the superbug C. diff included on death certificates has risen 28 per cent.

Altogether last year, 8,324 people in England and Wales had clostridium difficile when they died.

This compares with 6,480 in 2006, with the infection noted as the underlying cause in about half of deaths, according to the Office for National Statistics.

But the number of reported deaths involving the infection has more than doubled since 2005, when there were 3,757.

The ONS said some of the increase may be due to more complete reporting on death certificates after the Government called for more accurate classification by doctors in 2005.

However, Kate Jopling, of Help the Aged, said: 'This shocking rise is stacked on top of a huge rise in deaths involving C.diff the previous year.

'The vast majority of people who die are aged 65 and over.

'It is absolutely outrageous that year on year older people are dying as a result of failure to ensure high levels of hygiene in our hospitals.

'People go into hospital expecting to be looked after, not to run the risk of secondary infections as a result of poor hygiene.'

Last month, it emerged that there will be no criminal charges over the deaths of at least 90 patients in the UK's worst C.diff outbreak.

A report found a string of failures led to the deaths at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent from 2004 to 2006.

Graziella Kontkowski, who lost her grandmother to the bug and runs the C.diff Support Group, believes the infection is still under-reported in the NHS.

She said: 'These figures show the Department of Health was not taking this seriously enough.

'Sadly, people have lost their lives as a result. C.diff is avoidable by regular, thorough cleaning and the highest standards of hygiene among staff.'

Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: 'It is tragic that so many people are dying unnecessarily each year from clostridium difficile.

'The vast majority could have been avoided if the Government had only taken the right action at the right time.

'We need better antibiotic prescribing and hygiene but also proper isolation facilities in hospitals to stop infections spreading.

'Three-quarters of hospitals still lack isolation facilities.'

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: 'These are horrifying statistics. The truth is these could be avoidable deaths.

'The Government's action on this is too little too late in the face of the dreadful death toll.

'There must be zero tolerance of low hygiene standards in hospitals. Poor performance can be a matter of life and death.'

However, the ONS figures show the number of death certificates that mention MRSA fell from 1,652 in 2006 to 1,593 in 2007.

This is the first time MRSA-related deaths have fallen since ONS records began in 1993.

But campaigners claim MRSA is still not under control in many hospitals, with official figures showing 17 trusts had more cases of bloodstream infection last year than in 2004.

Professor Brian Duerden, Inspector of Microbiology and Infection Control at the Department of Health, said: 'Patients have a right to high-quality, safe care.

'We have made infection prevention and control a legal requirement and a number one priority for the NHS.

'However, people who are very ill are vulnerable to infections, not all of which are avoidable.

'We believe the rise in the number of clostridium difficile cases recorded as a contributing factor on death certificates does not represent a rise in actual deaths, but primarily an increase in awareness and reporting.

'Cases of MRSA and C.diff infections are falling and for the first time we are seeing the number of recorded deaths from MRSA falling too.'

But he added: 'One avoidable infection is one too many. We must go further. 

'We have set a target for the NHS to deliver a 30 per cent reduction in clostridium difficile in the next three years.'