Published Date:
12 April 2005
THE hospital superbug was at the centre of the local General Election campaign today after Health Secretary John Reid blamed Tories for the outbreak.
On a visit to Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital he refused to accept responsibility for the crisis.
He claimed the Tories were to blame for cutting back on hospital hygiene while they were in power.
His defence came as Tories launched an election onslaught around the bug. In full-page adverts in newspapers, including The News, they blamed Prime Minister Tony Blair for 5,000 deaths caused by dirty hospitals.
But Dr Reid said: 'The Conservative government phased out the matron, slashed the number of cleaners and contracted out to cheap cleaning firms.'
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Last Updated:
12 April 2005 10:13 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Portsmouth
