A FAMILY is planning legal action after claiming that a baby contracted MRSA at Royal Blackburn Hospital seven months before the recent outbreak.

The case was revealed as health chiefs were already under fire for failing to reveal details of the outbreak of the superbug at the neo-natal unit in mid-September until last week.

The hospital's watchdog has demanded bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) reveal whether there have been any other cases, to restore the public's confidence.

Health chiefs said there had been no other outbreaks of MRSA, but a spokesman declined to say whether there had been any more individual cases.

However, it has been revealed that a Hyndburn family who claim that their baby caught MRSA at the neo-natal unit in February, has instructor solicitros to take legal action against the trust.

The family, who have asked to remain anonymous, said their prematurely-born baby remains ill from the effects of the superbug.

They have instructed Lindsay Wise, from Manchester medical law firm Irwin Mitchell and she said that the family was calling on ELHT to disclose the "full facts" about the recent MRSA outbreak.

She said: "We are appealing to the trust for full disclosure on the timing of the outbreak of MRSA at the unit.

"The allegation we are investigating would appear to contradict reports in the media this week that the unit was shut immediately when the infection was first identified in mid-September.

"As MRSA appears to have been on the unit in February of this year. We would have to question why steps taken by the trust in September were not taken earlier and whether such steps would have prevented the subsequent outbreak.

"The Government has made it clear that tackling infections is one of four top priorities in the healthcare profession and that it is important that upon detection trusts examine whether the infection is preventable and take appropriate control measures."

The neo-natal unit remains closed to new admissions following September's outbreak, in which six babies were found to be infected with the aggressive PVL strain on their skin.

All are said to be making good progress and the superbug had not got into any of the tots' bloodstreams where it can be deadly.

But first-time mum Jenna Hodgkiss, 20, of Accrington, whose four-week-old boy Kian was one of the children affected, continues to be treated in hospital after catching the bug from her baby.

Coun Roy Davies, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council's health scrutiny committee which acts as a watchdog for the hospital, was furious last week after finding out about the outbreak from the Lancashire Telegraph.

He said of the latest claims: "We would not have known about what is going on if it was not for the Telegraph.

"I want the hospital trust to come out and say what has happened and whether there has been any other cases.

"If something has happened I would expect them to put their hands up and say whether there was something wrong.

"How many people now will have given back word and said they don't want their baby to be born in Blackburn and want to go somewhere else like Burnley instead?"

A spokesman for the ELHT's infection control team said there had been no outbreak of MRSA in the neo-natal unit since one last September, which was reported.

But the spokesman said an outbreak was when two or more people were affected.

The spokesman declined to confirm individual cases.

He said: "One in 100 people carry it on their skin so it could have come from a visitor.

"It could have been from the community for example.

"I would not be able to say whether there had been an individual case because it would identify that we have been talking about the parents. "