IPSWICH Hospital is today stepping up its blitz on superbugs after failing to meet targets for reducing clostridium difficile (C-diff) last month.

IPSWICH Hospital is today stepping up its blitz on superbugs after failing to meet targets for reducing clostridium difficile (C-diff) last month.

All staff are having infection control responsibilities included in their job descriptions and will be assessed in their appraisals.

The hospital has also appointed clinical champions for each ward to watch over infection control and introduced a newsletter to keep staff and patients up-to-date on rules and rates.

New figures show the hospital met its targets for MRSA in April and May but over the two months had 72 cases of C-diff against a target of 60.

Last year it was plagued by infections and a report from the Healthcare Commission last week revealed it was failing to meet targets for infection control or healthcare environment and hygiene.

Earlier this month the hospital launched a drive to cut down on infections by reducing visiting hours and investing £400,000.

And now it is following it up with added crackdown measures and a promise to make monthly reports to bosses at the Suffolk Primary Care Trust and East of England Strategic Health Authority.

The newsletter, devoted entirely to infection control and designed to keep staff and members of the public informed, will have six issues a year.

It is in addition to information leaflets which have been placed at the five main entrances to the hospital since the visiting hours were reduced.

Gwen Collins, director of infection prevention and control, said: “This shows the hospital is making an on-going commitment to anti-infection measures.

“The reduced visiting hours and investment has worked very well for patients, and this is the next step.

“The newsletter is so the public and staff can read on one or two pages, in simple languages, all what's going on. There is so much information embedded in minutes and action plans which people get fed up reading.”

The hospital said despite failing to meet C-diff targets for April and May, there had been a major downward trend in the last four months.

It said it hoped to meet targets for June and July.

The hospital is also aware the Healthcare Commission could make an unannounced visit to look at ward cleanliness, isolation procedures for patients, equipment cleaning procedures and handwashing.

N Is enough be done to tackle infections at the hospital? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk