HOSPITALS across Morecambe Bay will come under scrutiny next week in a bid to beat the superbug MRSA, writes Michaela Robinson-Tate.

A team of volunteers will be carrying out a high profile survey of hospital hygiene standards in a bid to tackle the alarming rise in hospital-acquired infections nationally, and increase local understanding of MRSA, the so-called hospital superbug.

The volunteers from The Patient and Public Involvement Forums a new patient body in Morecambe Bay will be visiting Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, and Barrow's Furness General Hospital, next Tuesday.

A team of PPI Forum members will check four wards at each hospital, looking at different aspects of hygiene, such as the availability of sinks, and how often staff wash their hands.

They will also try to identify patient views and pinpoint any improvements that can be made to help fight MRSA.

Spokesperson Annelies Boak, who will be one of the team surveying WGH, said: "A fresh appraisal like this is sure to be helpful against the threat of superbugs. We have no pre-conceived ideas so we are looking at it from a commonsense viewpoint.

"Morecambe Bay PPI Forums are pleased to have the opportunity of independently reviewing the three main hospital sites throughout the Bay area."

MRSA, or Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is an antibiotic-resistant organism that can cause serious problems in vulnerable patients.

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust was recently assessed by government figures as being among the ten best trusts in the country for serious MRSA infection.

However, medical director and consultant microbiologist Dr David Telford said the PPI Forum surveys were still useful.

"We welcome external scrutiny of this because it gives us a fix on whether our standards are good, or average or indifferent. Good domestic standards challenge us all.

"These hospitals are enormously busy public areas with a lot of people moving around in them, and keeping them really clean and spick and span can be quite a difficult job."

The surveys have been instigated by the North West Regional Office of the Commission for Public and Patient Involvement in Health.

Experts at the regional office will analyse the results of the synchronised surveys across the North West and recommendations will be made available to the public.

If it is successful in the North West, the survey could be rolled out by PPI Forums across England.