Mrs Williams had surgery at Wrexham Maelor Hospital

Coroner John Hughes recorded a verdict of accidental death on Minnie Williams, who had been recovering from surgery and also suffered from heart disease.

It is the second inquest in a week on the MRSA-related death of a patient at the hospital.

North East Wales NHS Trust said an investigation is being conducted to establish the source of infection.

On Monday, a verdict of accidental death was recorded on Nigel Pritchard, 57, who caught MRSA after injections at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Mrs Williams, of Caia Park, Wrexham, became ill and was admitted to hospital again while she was staying at a nursing home to recover from the hip replacement surgery.

The last thing she or the family wanted was that she should attract the MRSA infection John Hughes, coroner

Pathologist Dr Anthony Burdge, in a report read by the coroner, said MRSA grew on a sample taken two day before she died.

It was unclear exactly where she caught the infection although the hospital said after the inquest on Friday that the infection was "likely" to have been acquired during her admission to the hospital in June and July 2004.

She also had severe heart disease, consistent with her age, the inquest heard.

Mrs Williams had severe narrowing in two of the three arteries to her heart, which were down to 20% of normal capacity.

The pathologist said she died of bronchial pneumonia MRSA, with heart disease as a contributory cause.

Mr Burdge's report added: "This was an overwhelming infection."

'Vulnerable and elderly'

Recording a verdict of accidental death, John Hughes, coroner for North East Wales, said Mrs Williams had consented to the operation and died from complications afterwards.

He said: "The last thing she or the family wanted was that she should attract the MRSA infection.

"It is condition, which probably every one of us carries on our skin, but as we are fit and healthy it does not affect us.

"But if you are vulnerable and elderly it can be a catastrophe.

"You as a family may have your own views on the situation but it would be wrong of me to make any further comment."

This trust takes the issue of MRSA very seriously North East Wales NHS Trust

Following the hearing in Wrexham, Mrs Williams' son, John, said: "We are not interested in suing anybody. As a family we don't want it to happen to anyone else."

Mr Williams added: "Our mother had a previous history of contracting MRSA when she was isolated for several months."

In a statement on Friday, North East Wales NHS Trust said it "deeply regrets the death of Mrs Williams and wish to extend our sympathy and sincerest apologies to her family."

'Infection control measures'

The statement added: "An investigation is being conducted to establish the source of infection.

"We recognise that, despite the strict infection-control practices that are in place, the infection is likely to have been acquired during her admission to the Maelor Hospital in June and July 2004.

"During this time, tests for infection, including MRSA, were conducted on a repeated basis but a positive result was only obtained on 31 July."

The statement continued: "This trust takes the issue of MRSA very seriously, and infection control measures have resulted in a reduction in the number of MRSA infections being reduced by 50% in the last two years.

"We also have a strict policy, agreed with HM Coroner for North East Wales, that we will always record on the death certificate where an infection that has been either the primary cause or a contributing factor to a patient's death has tested as MRSA positive.

"This inevitably means that we will report a higher number of MRSA-related deaths than will hospitals who do not adopt this approach."

The case comes less than a week after a verdict of accidental death was recorded on Mr Pritchard, a former brewery worker from Wrexham, who died from MRSA infection six days after going into the hospital for injections to treat arthritis.

In an earlier statement, North East Wales NHS Trust said a "thorough investigation" of Mr Pritchard's case was being carried out.