The cash is to be spent on ripping out and replacing shabby fixtures and fittings including cupboards, work surfaces and floor coverings which were installed some 40 years ago.

Hospital boss David Loughton said the state of the old-fashioned furnishings was “absolutely appalling” and physically impossible to properly keep clean.

“They have deteriorated to such an extent that they have become a breeding ground for germs and must be replaced,” he said.

Earlier this year New Cross was named as one of the worst hospitals in the country for tackling the superbug MRSA.

Mr Loughton said: “Cleaning staff are doing their very best but they face an increasingly difficult task, and the only answer is to kit out the wards with stainless steel fittings.”

The chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, said about £50,000 would be spent on refurbishing each of the 14 wards. The work would take nearly two years to complete because they could close only one ward at a time, he added. Popular stories:

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