Hospital chairman quits over superbug scandal

Following a report that as many as 345 patients may have died from an infection contracted at a British hospital, the chairman of the hospital trust at the centre of the infection scandal has resigned.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced that James Lee, chairman of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital has resigned.

Last week the Healthcare Commission declared that following two outbreaks of the deadly "superbug" Clostridium difficile (C.Diff) at the hospital between April 2004 and September 2006, which affected 1,176 people, 345 of whom died, was likely to be the main cause of death in around 90 of these cases and had definitely led to the deaths of 21 patients.

The Healthcare Commission has criticised the trust for its failure to tackle the spread of the disease and exposed "significant failings in the duty of care".

The Health minister has apologised to those affected on behalf of the government but victims and their families are expected to take legal action; the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital trust could be facing damage claims running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Johnson has described the report into the Clostridium difficile outbreak as "a truly shocking document".

The chief executive of the NHS trust, Rose Gibb, quit after just four years in the job and within days of the release of the report.

Johnson has ordered that her severance pay reportedly worth £250,000, be withheld until legal advice has been sought.

The Health Secretary has denied claims that managers’ attempts to meet waiting list and other government targets, as well as staff shortages, had led to neglect of basic hygiene.

C.Diff bacteria is present in the gut of as many as 8 percent of healthy adults who harbor the bug without it causing any problems.

The infection as a rule becomes a problem among patients who have received antibiotics, particularly the elderly.

C.Diff symptoms include diarrhoea, severe bowel inflammation, fever, nausea and abdominal pain.

In September Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered a deep clean of every hospital to tackle hospital superbugs such as C.Diff and MRSA, which are a huge problem in National Health Hospitals in Britain.

Such superbugs are resistant to treatment with most available antibiotics and can be fatal.