THREE North-East hospitals are among the ten best-performing health trusts when it comes to fighting the MRSA superbug.

Yesterday, the Government said hospitals have reached the turning point in the battle to reduce potentially deadly MRSA infections.

New figures show North-East hospitals are among the best in the country. The figures show that cases of the superbug in hospitals across England have reached their lowest level since mandatory records began in 2001.

Health Minister Lord Warner said there appeared to have been a significant change of direction in MRSA infections in hospitals.

The figures for the six months from April to September last year show that 3,519 NHS patients in England were infected with the drug-resistant bug, compared with 3,519 in the previous six months and 3,598 in the same period in 2001.

The total number of infections in NHS acute trusts fell 6.3 per cent in the same period last year.

In the region, the lowest MRSA rate is at Harrogate Health Care NHS Trust, which had three cases during the relevant quarter and a rate per 1,000 bed days of 0.05 per cent. Just behind is the larger North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, which had seven cases (0.06 per cent) in the same period.

In joint sixth place is Gates-head Health NHS Trust with eight cases (0.07 per cent).

Next are South Tyneside (eight cases, 0.11 per cent) and York (13 cases, 0.11 per cent).

County Durham and Darlington had 24 cases (0.12 per cent) during the same period.

The City Hospitals Sunderland Trust had 22 cases, putting them on 0.14 per cent, the same percentage as Northumbria, which had 27 cases.

The two biggest North-East hospital trusts, which often take the most seriously ill patients and the most complex cases, had the highest proportion of MRSA cases. The large Newcastle Hospitals trust, which includes the Freeman, the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Newcastle General had 48 cases -0.19 per cent.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, had 38 cases (0.2 per cent).

Compared to the same quarter in 2003, five North-East trusts had reduced rates of MRSA and four had increased rates.