Leicester's hospitals introduced new infection control measures

The city's hospitals have introduced better measures to improve infection control practices, officials said.

Department of Health figures show the Leicester University Hospitals NHS Trust had the largest reduction in MRSA cases in the East Midlands.

A spokesman for the trust said it reflected the commitment of staff at all levels to fight the superbug.

Mixed results

The trust, which runs Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester General Hospital, had 48 cases in 2004-2005 compared to 59 cases in the previous period - a drop of 18%.

Across the country, overall rates of the infection dropped by 6.1% in 2004-2005 compared with earlier figures.

Almost 40% of NHS trusts saw MRSA rates rise in the space of a year, despite increased government efforts to combat the bug.

The figures, published on Thursday by the Health Protection Agency, showed a slight rise in the MRSA rate at Derby Hospitals NHS Trust with one more case over the previous period.

But the Derby rate did fall from 49 to 41 cases when the annual figures are compared - ranking the trust 54th out of 170 English trusts.

The rate rose at United Lincolnshire NHS Trust where the number of cases increased to 41 from 30.