Shropshire cases of hospital superbug MRSA rose at the end of last year despite Government commitments to halve cases by June this year, a Shropshire Euro MP has warned.

MEP Liz Lynne said she was worried over the rise in the number of cases of the disease.

While Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt NHS Trust maintained its 0 rate, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust reported eight cases between October and December 2007, up from five cases the previous quarter.

Across England MRSA cases during October-December 2007 were up 0.6 per cent on the previous quarter at 1,087, after successive falls since April 2006. West Midlands region cases rose from 132 to 137.

Ms Lynne, vice president of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, contributed to a recent report which called for greater protection for healthcare workers from infections such as MRSA.

She said: “These figures are worrying for the government and patients alike, showing that after the start of the ‘deep clean’ programme, infections rose, after steady falls in previous quarters.

“This country has one of the worst records on healthcare associated infections in the European Union. If we are serious about eradicating MRSA, which claims some 1,600 UK lives each year, we need to learn from our European partners.”

The Government’s target is 963 cases or lower in the April-June 2008 quarter, which it may now be unable to meet.

A spokesman for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said that during the whole of last year the trust had 36 cases of MRSA which was down from 48 cases the previous year.