"We don't blame anyone but ourselves," is the message from hospital bosses in Bradford on rising levels of the MRSA superbug in the city's hospitals.

Miles Scott, chief executive of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and its chairman David Richardson made the declaration to the Trust's board of governors, while explaining fresh measures being put in place to tackle the growing problem.

The Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, has breached a year-end target for the number of MRSA cases. It was set a target to cut the number of cases between April 2006 and March 2007 to 26. But at the end of September there had already been 29.

Mr Scott told a meeting of the board of governors at Bradford Royal Infirmary last night many hospital trusts sought to blame the problem on the number of cases being brought in from the community but this was not the case in Bradford.

The meeting heard that 40 per cent of cases were acquired in the community and then brought into the hospital.

But Mr Scott said the matter was a major issue of public confidence and the Trust had many ways to help tackle the problem.

This view was backed by Mr Richardson who said it was not about apportioning blame, but measures to reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections.

The Trust has already agreed to increase resources available to the infection control team, which will be used to boost its manpower, with the Trust's former medical director being appointed as associate medical director in control of infection.

In this role Dr Newton will carry out daily inspections of wards on both hospital sites, looking at individual members of staff and patients. A new team of cleaners will also blitz wards or bays where an infected person has been staying.

And, at the request of the Trust, the Department of Health's health care associated infections improvement team will visit on November 28 and 29 to ensure everything is being done to get to grips with the problem. "We have to do everything we can to make sure that we resolve this," said Mr Scott. "We see 100,000 patients a year and in this context only a small number are affected but your would not want to be one of them or your granny to be one of them.

"Reducing MRSA is an extremely challenging target for the whole of the NHS and it is no secret the NHS overall will miss this target this year.

"I can give my reassurance that this is a high priority for the Trust and we will not rest until we have cracked it."

e-mail: claire.lomax@bradford.newsquest.co.uk