Liberal Democrats will tackle hospital superbugs - Burstow

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Apr 2005

Speaking at the start of the final week of campaigning for the 2005 General Election, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Paul Burstow commented:

"The Government has failed to get a grip on the problem. Every year the equivalent of seven and a half district general sized hospitals are filled by people who pick up an infection during their stay.

"It is hard to keep a hospital clean, and harder still to combat these infections. The NHS need the support and freedom to tackle infections, not political attacks."

He added:

"The Liberal Democrats will always put patients first. We want to create a modern, efficient and effective health service that is properly staffed and securely funded.

"Doctors and nurses need freedom to use their clinical judgment and common sense to deliver good quality individual patient care - and not be overruled by Labour's political priorities.

"Scrapping targets is not the same as abandoning standards. But healthcare is far too complex to be boiled down into a set of conveniently eye-catching targets which distort good medical practice."