Shropshire health watchdogs have praised the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for its cleanliness and the way it is fighting superbugs such as MRSA.

Members of Shropshire Council’s health overview scrutiny committee were given free rein to visit wards and department at the hospital to see for themselves what standards of cleanliness and infection control were like.

They reported back to the committee yesterday. Councillor Madge Shineton said she had been impressed by the systems in place which clearly indicated the items on a ward that had been cleaned and those that had not.

The system had been devised by ward staff.

Councillor Shineton was also impressed by the high levels of cleanliness she saw.

In the maternity unit “enormous efforts” were being made to keep it clean but the building was in need of the upgrade, which is now under way.

Councillor David Beechey said he had been on a surgical ward at the hospital three or four years ago. In terms of cleaning it left a lot to be desired and there was little evidence of cleaning under the beds.

“Now everything is spotless,” he said.

Councillor Beechey said there was no-one in the hospital who was not aware of the need for infection control.

“It’s in your face all the time,” he added. “Everywhere you go it is evident that a lot of effort has been put into it.”

Councillor James Gibson said he was in the hospital about six years ago and he thought ,at the time, it was filthy.

But now he said there were “very high standards” of cleanliness.

“Someone down the line has certainly been cracking the whip,” he said.

Tom Taylor, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, said there was “great pride” taken in keeping the hospital clean.

He said the trust had hit its target for the past year of having no more than 23 MRSA cases. There were 15, of which eight patients already had the infection when they were admitted.

Three years ago the 12-monthly figure was 58.

The meeting also heard there had been 99 C.diff cases compared to the target of 286.