Around 2,000 residents of nursing homes in Wolverhampton are being screened for MRSA under pioneering plans to banish the life-threatening superbug.

Wolverhampton is one of the first areas in the country to run a screening programme of its type.

The seven-week programme is being carried out jointly by Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Hospitals Trust.

Staff from the PCT are going into the homes and taking swabs from residents which are then being sent to New Cross Hospital for analysis.

Those with a positive result will be offered treatment and re-testing.

Jeanette Wilding, director of nursing, healthcare governance and infection prevention for Wolverhampton PCT, said: “The PCT and the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust are committed to patient safety and reducing healthcare-acquired infections and as part of our zero tolerance approach, we are now extending this to include nursing and residential homes.

“It is in the best interests of patients and their relatives that they agree to be screened to ensure that any cases are detected and appropriate treatment given.”