LONDON, March 30 (UPI) -- The British National Health Service says 13 hospitals will not meet the deadline for deep cleaning to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said 170 hospitals will make the March 31 deadline, The Times of London reported. Prime Minister Gordon Brown made the pledge, saying the wards of general hospitals would be cleaned to "industrial standards."
About 7,000 to 8,000 cases of antibiotic-resistant MRSA and 55,600 cases of Clostridium Difficile infection are reported in the country every year. But some experts say the actual number is likely to be much higher.
Brown's cleanup was criticized as a publicity stunt. The Lancet, the country's best known medical journal, suggested that a one-time scrub down, however thorough, would have little effect and argued that the best defense is thorough hand-washing by doctors, nurses and visitors.
