London hospitals 'dirtiest in Britain'

Figures released today by the health standards regulator reveal that about a quarter of primary care trusts and acute units in London are failing to protect patients from superbugs.

St George's Hospital in Tooting, Barnet & Chase Farm Hospital and the Whittington are among those named and shamed by the Healthcare Commission.

Their failings include dirty wards and inadequate sterilisation of equipment.

The ratings come despite the introduction of tough new hygiene standards for hospitals and trusts following the scandal involving Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust where 90 patients died after an outbreak of clostridium-difficile.

The figures are in the commission's annual check on the performance of every hospital, primary care trust, mental health trust and ambulance service. Their performances were audited on both patient care and financial management.

Overall, nearly a third were rated "weak" but three of the 19 trusts nationwide to be awarded a rating of "excellent" for both finances and service to patients were in London: Chelsea & Westminster, Guy's & St Thomas' and the Royal Marsden.

In terms of just patient care, which includes issues such hygiene as well as waiting times, cancer treatments and accident and emergency care, the overall picture is improving - 22 bodies managed to improve on last year's ratings.

The London Ambulance Service rose two levels from "weak" to "good". It has improved its response times for life-threatening calls. Surrey, Sussex and West Hertfordshire-NHS trusts got bottom marks for the second consecutive year.

Two trusts - Sutton & Merton and Moorfields Eye Hospital - were branded weak and some others came in for criticism in key areas. Whipps Cross University Hospital was singled out for failing on stroke care and for not meeting the 18-week referral-to-treatment target.

Mental health services showed the best performance overall - the West London Mental Health NHS Trust improved from "good" to "excellent" on financial management and from "fair" to "good" on patient services. The rest remained static, the vast majority being graded at "fair" or better. These included Lewisham and City & Hackney Teaching Primary Care Trusts.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said that improving infection control was top of their agenda.

* The primary care and other trusts classed as unhygienic are: Havering, City & Hackney Teaching, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow, Brent Teaching, Harrow, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Wandsworth, Richmond & Twickenham, Sutton & Merton, Bromley Hospitals, St Mary's NHS, Mayday Healthcare, St George's Healthcare, Whittington Hospital, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals and Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals.