FIFTEEN hospitals in the region with poor hygiene standards have cleaned up their act in time to escape being named and shamed as part of a clean-up campaign.

Government inspectors checked cleanliness standards at more than 600 hospitals in England last Autumn and found many fell below acceptable standards.

In the Northern and Yorkshire region 15 hospitals failed the inspection and were given a "red" rating indicating that standards of hygiene were poor.

But after spending £30m in an intensive wash and brush up throughout England the Department of Health announced today that all of the red-rated hospitals in our region have moved from poor to acceptable or good.

Hospitals in the region which received red ratings last Autumn included: Dryburn (Durham), Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Queen Elizabeth (Gateshead), North Tees General (Stockton), North Riding Infirmary (Middlesbrough), Horn Hill (Stanhope), Bensham (Gateshead) Hunters Moor (Newcastle), Walkergate (Newcastle), Whitby Community, Priority Healthcare Wearside (Sunderland) Stead Memorial (Redcar), West Lane (Middlesbrough) and Selby War Memorial.

Nationally the Department of Health identified 42 hospitals where hygiene standards are still deemed unacceptable, including 11 which face the hardest struggle to improve which have been put on "special measures" and will get extra resources.

Barrie Kirton, assistant director of operations at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, which successfully moved from the red zone to the amber zone, said the initiative had been very worthwhile.

"Our trust got an extra £150,000 which did make a very significant difference. It allowed us to meet the standards set by the Department," said Mr Kirton.

"It allowed us to increase the frequency of cleaning in some areas, including all the public toilet areas," he added.

"We are determined we are going to get a green rating," said Mr Kirton.

The inspections of 689 hospitals this year found that 94 per cent had cleanliness standards that were acceptable or higher, while six per cent were deemed poor.

Similar inspections last year found that a third of hospitals had unacceptable cleaning standards.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said: ''Despite this marked improvement, there is to be no let up in our drive to raise standards of hospital cleanliness."

Updated: 17.35 Tuesday, April 10