2/3A "SERIOUS" rise in cases of the MRSA superbug in East Lancashire hospitals today prompted an action pledge from health bosses.

The increase, which has prompted concern from patients representatives and MPs, comes at a time when the national infection rate is falling.

It has been blamed on a rise in emergency admissions and a heavy workload, which means patients are transferred from beds, wards and hospitals quickly.

And Burnley General Hospital had almost twice as many cases as Blackburn's two main hospitals combined.

Now, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust bosses have introduced a number of measures to combat the problem.

They include employing a second senior infection control nurse - to be based at Burnley General - doubling its team.

And an East Lancashire patient group is also set to do spot checks on wards to test cleanliness and staff hygiene practices.

Sixty nine MRSA cases were reported by the Trust between April 2004 and March 2005 - six cases more than the previous year and a nine per cent rise. Twenty six of these cases were in Blackburn's two hospitals and 43 were just at Burnley.

The figures compare with 63 cases between April 2003 and March 2004 - 18 at Blackburn and 45 at Burnley.

In the latest figures published by the Department of Health, MRSA rates in England fell by 11 per cent - from 3,940 to 3,519, the lowest since mandatory recording began.

Hospital bosses have admitted that they are concerned about the rise - and unable to explain why Burnley figures are so high.

Richard Gildert, director of nursing and quality, said: "The Trust recognises that this is a serious issue and has introduced a number of measures to reduce MRSA rates.

"Latest figures show East Lancashire Hospitals have a figure comparable to other large acute Trusts in the North West Region.

"The Trust has been shown to have a consistently high standard of cleanliness, as shown in the most recent inspection by the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT)."

MRSA can be contracted in the community as well as in hospital and in many cases patients will be carrying MRSA before they come into hospital, health bosses have said.

MRSA is most commonly spread via the hands, equipment and sometimes the environment.

Ways of limiting the spread include hand washing, cleaning all equipment after use and keeping the environment clean.

Mollie Manthorpe, chair of the East Lancashire Hospital Patient and Public Involvement Forum, said: "During the last 12 months the forum has been involved in a number of initiatives to improve infection control and we will continue to work with the Trust on these issues and continue to monitor the wards cleanliness in the coming year.

"As a group we will do spot checks on wards to assess cleanliness and will pay particular attention to wards where there have been issues or complaints in the past."

A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: "Of course these figures do not reflect how many of these 69 cases were brought in from the community and did not originate in hospital but any action the hospital is actively taking to reduce figures is welcomed."

Hyndburn MP, Greg Pope: "Obviously any increase in super-bug figures is worrying but what I am very pleased about is the action that is being taken to address the problem."

Blackburn MP Jack Straw, added: "When I went to visit Queens Park Hospital in April I got ticked off for failing to wash my hands when I went from one side ward to another by the matron.

"It is obviously concerning that there has been a small increase but I welcome the fact that the East Lancashire Hospital Trust is taking action."