Clean up

No one disputes the terrible toll that MRSA, the so-called "superbug", is inflicting in Britain's hospitals. No one disputes, either, that the root cause is dirty hospital wards. And no one can seriously argue that the National Health Service is too short of cash to hire enough cleaners. In the light of such a broad consensus, the Government has no excuse whatever for its lamentable failure to demand that hygiene in hospitals meets certain standards. Thanks to the Government's 23 initiatives, we are now well aware of the nature of the problem. It is surely high time that something was actually done about it.