INFECTIONS of the killer MRSA superbug have leapt sharply at some North-East hospitals - despite a nationwide fall of 6.1 per cent.

There were 47 cases at the County Durham and Darlington trust's seven hospitals in the year to March, compared with 38 the previous year - a rise of 23.7 per cent.

In contrast, infection rates fell at almost all other hospitals across the North-East and North Yorkshire, according to the latest Department of Health figures.

City Hospitals Sunderland can boast a 16.1 per cent fall, from 56 cases to 47; and Gateshead Health NHS Trust a 55.6 per cent decline, from 36 to 16.

The nationwide fall - to the lowest annual infection rate since counting began was hailed by Health Secretary Jane Kennedy as evidence that the drive for cleaner hospitals was working.

Mrs Kennedy was quick to warn that hospitals failing to improve would face sanctions, which could include sacking the chief executive and the board.

County Durham and Darlington trust runs the acute hospitals in Darlington, Bishop Auckland and North Durham, as well as four smaller community hospitals.

Infections of MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - rose from 30 cases in 2001/02 to 40 in 2002/3, before falling slightly to 38 last year.

Despite the rise this year, County Durham and Darlington still has fewer infections per 1,000 bed-days - the department's favoured measure - than most other hospitals.

A trust spokesman said: "Our rate of MRSA is significantly lower than both the national and North-East average, and we are working very hard to improve this further.

"We stress the importance of hand hygiene among staff and visitors to our hospitals. We have placed hand disinfecting gel at every bedside in the trust."

The highest rate per 1,000 bed-days in the North-East is at South Tees Hospitals Trust, despite its success in halving infections from 120 to 67 in three years.

Under legislation to go before MPs, the Healthcare Commission will send "hit squads" into any hospital plagued by the superbug to draw up an improvement plan.

If the hospital fails to comply - and infection rates continue to worsen -its chief executive would be held responsible, but suggestions of jail sentences have been played down by ministers.

Mrs Kennedy said trusts that had successfully cut infection rates had worked well as a team, with techniques that were now being highlighted for all hospitals.