HOSPITAL cleaning services were put on the spot again yesterday after inspections showed many NHS trusts were still failing to tackle the problem of dirty wards.

The Government published new standards as a guide to hospitals on what is expected from cleaning services, whether provided in-house or contracted out to private companies.

Detailed guidance was also set out by the Department of Health on how different hospital areas and equipment should be cleaned.

It published the results of inspections by Patient Environment Action Teams, which showed that half of the 1,184 hospitals in England they checked only scraped through as "acceptable" when it came to cleanliness.

A further 27 were classed as either "poor" or "unacceptable".

Cleanliness, or the lack of it, has been blamed for soaring hospital acquired infections, such as MRSA, which are responsible for up to 5,000 deaths a year.

None of this region's hospitals rated as poor or the worst rating, unacceptable.

Excellent general hospitals included the Freeman and the RVI, both in Newcastle, and Chester-le-Street Hospital, which is run by the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Kevin Oxley, director of facilities at the trust, which also received "good" ratings for Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University Hospital of North Durham, said: "The hard work of our staff has once again been reflected in the positive scores given to our hospitals."

The Friarage, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, and James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, were rated as good and acceptable.