Twenty-six people fell ill with Clostridium Difficile just days after a Chester hospital completed a “deep clean”, it has emerged.
The Countess of Chester Hospital closed a surgical ward last Thursday when the patients fell ill with the stomach bug.
It followed a £300,000 deep clean at the hospital.
The hospital has insisted that the deep clean was successful and blamed the outbreak on an unusually high number of patients bringing C difficile into the building.
A spokesman said: “There is a high level of C Difficile in the community and this outbreak has been caused by an unusually high number of patients coming to the hospital with C difficile.
“Patient safety is the Trust’s primary concern, so visiting infectious patients is strictly controlled.
“Visiting is also not allowed for isolated patients in other areas of the hospital.”
He added that the number of patients suffering from C difficile has now fallen to 17.
“Infection Control Procedures are in place and the position is now stable,” he said.
It follows plans which were announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown last September for every NHS hospital to be scrubbed in a bid to tackle bugs like MRSA and C Difficile.
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