PATIENTS are so concerned about the threat of hospital superbugs they rate clean wards and good hand hygiene by staff above the standard of care they receive.

A new survey commissioned by the Scottish Government reveals the cleanliness of hospitals is the overwhelming priority for the public, followed by staff cleaning their hands before they treat patients.

The ability to receive emergency care quickly and getting the best treatment are also ranked as important, followed by doctors knowing enough about a condition and explaining clearly what is involved in a procedure.

Dr Jean Turner, chief executive of Scotland Patients' Association, said the report showed many people were worried about catching an infection such as C.diff or MRSA in hospital.

"What patients consider most important is that they don't want to pick up unnecessary infections," she said. "They want to feel confident that people have the facility to wash their hands and know how not to spread infection."

Some 2213 former patients were asked to rate 60 issues in order of priority.

Clean wards emerged as the most important issue for patients in 12 health boards.

More than 70 comments were made about poor cleanliness and hygiene in hospitals, with patients reporting a "filthy shower cubicle", "lack of handwashing" and "cutlery not clean".

The Scottish Government is investing £54million over three years in initiatives to tackle hospital superbugs.