AN NHS Trust has said the rate of people being infected by a specific bacterial infection has been reduced by almost one third.
The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust said a review of the number of current cases of patients infected with Clostridium Difficile, a bacterial infection which can affect the bowel causing diarrhoea, was less than its previous year.
It said it had a 27 percent reduction of patients with the infection in hospital despite an increase of infected patients across the community.
Julie Lane, Director of Nursing, Patient Safety and Quality and Director Infection Prevention and Control said: "We are delighted to report a 27 percent reduction in cases of C Difficile within the Trust.
"Infection control is a priority for the Trust in terms of putting patient safety first and we are keen to drive the figure down even further.
"This is a direct result of the hard work and commitment of staff throughout the trust and I would like to take this opportunity to commend that effort."
The trust said it had put in place a comprehensive reduction programme to minimise the risk of infection.
It said, a focus on improving hand hygiene, improved antibiotic prescribing and analysis following each instance of a Clostridium Difficile infection, contributed to the figure.
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