Patients to be screened for bugs

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Mr Brown said tackling hospital-acquired infections was an "absolute priority" for the NHS.

In an interview on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, he said: "If you go into hospital, you will get screened, by next year, for MRSA or C difficile."

The Prime Minister said the programme of deep cleaning all hospitals has begun and will continue "right across the country" over the next few months.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson will publish detailed plans for tackling the infections later this week, Mr Brown added.

"We have got a doubling of the number of matrons, so they are in charge of the wards, we have got stiffer penalties for hospitals where there is no cleaning being done properly," Mr Brown said.

The number of cases of MRSA was going down, he said, because of measures which have already been taken.

He said: "We are doing everything in our power to root out this problem. It is something that I regard as an absolute priority because the National Health Service has got to be able to offer people clean hospitals that are safe for patients to come to."

Mr Brown also defended the controversial restructuring of hospital services across the country and said the private sector has a role to play in providing choice for patients.

Mr Brown acknowledged that a "number of people may be dissatisfied with the outcome for their hospital" but insisted the shake-up improved specialist care.