The BBC is reporting that thousands of cases of the hospital bug Clostridium difficile have remained hidden due to a requirement to only report cases affecting people over 65 years old.
A government suveillance scheme has required hospitals to submit numbers of cases of C difficile in people over 65 since 2004. But only since April this year must cases among all patients be included in the reports.
MP Grant Shapps obtained data from 171 NHS trusts in England, which showed there have been an extra 26,000 cases on top of the 176,450 infections reported.
C difficile is linked to twice as many deaths as MRSA, and, unlike the so-called superbug, C difficile infection rates are still on the rise. In 2006 they rose by 8% on the previous year to 55,000 infections.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "There is no room for complacency.
"We are clear - one avoidable infection is one too many and we are determined to ensure that the NHS has in place good hygiene and clinical procedures
How determined exactly? Are sufficient funds being invested to provide better cleaning procedures - and could it be more if the government weren't instead planning to waste billions of pounds extra on the EU?
The government might think it can get away with such poor judgement of priorities with public money. But how will MPs who vote to approve this unjustified increase in payments to the EU explain their choice to local voters who have been affected by this dangerous bug?
Especially if it's clear that more could have been done to prevent deaths, had more resources been made available.
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