York Hospital chiefs today admitted their standards of cleanliness were "not acceptable" after they were warned they must improve.

Independent health watchdogs said "a lot more work" was needed to prevent the spread of superbugs in wards.

The watchdogs said hygiene was only "acceptable" and the hospital trust, despite saying staff worked hard, admitted there "have been times when the cleanliness in certain areas of the hospital has fallen below the standards that we would like to see".

Checks on cleanliness and food in NHS hospitals were carried out by Patient Environment Action Teams (PEATs).

The inspections were sparked by growing concern at the spread of the MRSA superbug and other serious illnesses in hospitals.

The PEAT teams, which included patients and infection control staff, rated 1,184 English hospitals, finding 118 "excellent", 456 "good", 583 "acceptable", 24 "poor" and three "unacceptable".

They studied cleanliness on wards, reception and waiting areas, accident and emergency areas, corridors, furnishings and linen, as well as the quality of food served. York Hospital also received an "acceptable" rating for food.

Health Minister Lord Warner said "a lot more work is needed" to improve standards at the 49 per cent of hospitals considered "acceptable" - and to push the "good" hospitals into the "excellent" bracket.

In July, the Evening Press reported how York Hospital lost a chance to gain foundation status after the Healthcare Commission awarded it only two stars in annual performance ratings. Hospital cleanliness failed to meet its target.

But staff were hailed after launching a hygiene initiative entitled Clean Your Hands. Workers used alcohol hand gel to ward off bugs.

A York Hospitals NHS Trust spokeswoman said steps had been taken to improve standards.

She said: "Staff have worked very hard to ensure that the trust achieved an 'acceptable' rating in the recent PEAT inspection.

"We know, however, that there have been times when the cleanliness in certain areas of the hospital has fallen below the standards that we would like to see.

The steps include:

Appointing more ward housekeepers

Appointing a deputy director of nursing whose main responsibility is for the cleanliness and environment of the hospital

Working with cleaning contractors to ensure that standards are met and problems, such as recruitment issues, are solved

Spending money on improving the hospital environment, updating outpatient areas and looking at ways of improving the ward block.

The spokeswoman said: "Many more initiatives will be taking place over the next few months to modernise our service."

Elsewhere, Harrogate District Hospital scored "good" for cleanliness and "good" for food.

Updated: 10:02 Wednesday, December 08, 2004