HEALTH bosses are celebrating a £30,000 grant to help them combat hospital infection.

Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust staff are being given the money to increase infection control facilities.

Its record in tackling problems such as MRSA is among the best in the country and news of the cash injection comes in the week infectious disease figures were released.

The grant will be spent on revamping a ward at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, with six single en suite rooms, three double en suite rooms, two six-bed bays, plus one three-bed bay.

There will also be automated light fittings to prevent transference of infection via pull cords, and a new curtain system to increase the ease and speed of getting a bed ready for the next patient.

Chief executive Chris Evennett said: "We are delighted with this investment, which will help us make improvements in the future and maintain our track record on infection control.

"We are not relying on this alone. Our medical and nursing staff continue to work closely with our housekeeping teams to minimise the risk of infection."

He added that the responsibility for infection control does not rest with hospital staff alone. He said: "Visitors should remember that they can bring bugs in too, so good hand hygiene is vital."

There are hand gel dispensers by beds and plenty of washing facilities around the hospital.

Mr Evennett said that feedback was welcomed from the public about unclean areas or equipment.

Earlier this week the Daily Echo revealed how health chiefs in Southampton are winning the fight against the superbug MRSA.

Figures for November and December last year show that the number of patients with MRSA at Southampton General Hospital was 50 per cent lower than the previous year.

The overall reduction in MRSA cases is 35 per cent compared with 2005/06.

From April 2005 to April 2006 there were 92 cases of MRSA within the hospital compared with just 43 up until the end of December.