Around a third of superbug cases at a Black Country hospital come from the region’s nursing homes, it is claimed.

Bosses at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, say this is hampering attempts to fight the potentially fatal bugs.

They are desperate to reduce the number of outbreaks, a condition which needs to be fulfiled before Dudley Group of Hospitals (DGoH) can be granted “go-it alone” foundation status.

Stringent infection control standards now in place at hospitals have yet to be adopted at many nursing homes and medical staff at Russells Hall have begun swabbing new patients to identify cases.

Adrian Hamlyn, consultant gastroenterologist at Russells Hall Hospital, said: “A good proportion of MRSA has been imported from nursing homes,” he said.

“A practice we have now adopted has been to begin swabbing patients who come in from nursing homes.”

Figure reveal 15 patients at Russells Hall Hospital have been discovered with MRSA since April this year, although no new cases have been identified this month.

Ann Close, director of infection prevention and control at DGoH, said staff were doing everything possible to bring the number of MRSA cases down.

DGoH communications chief Clare Craddock said a new initiative designed to combat superbugs was set to be unveiled later today.