A HOSPITAL Trust under fire after an MRSA outbreak in its baby unit is failing to meet targets for tackling the superbug, a Government report has revealed.

Some 67 patients caught MRSA in East Lancashire's hospitals in 2006/7, almost twice as many as the target of 37, according to the report.

But the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT)has claimed that it is now winning the battle against MRSA and that this year's figures are already improving.

Yesterday the Healthcare Commission published a report detailing the performance of all the country's health trusts.

Overall the ELHT was ranked fair. But on tackling MRSA, it was found to be failing, the lowest of three possible ratings.

The Healthcare Commission said that it had given ELHT the rating because "performance is poorer than planned by a clear margin".

It comes amid an outbreak of MRSA in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Six babies were affected with the PVL strain of the superbug and are said to be making good progress as the infection has not got in their blood stream, where it can be deadly.

However the unit, which has been closed since mid-September, remains shut to new admissions.

Yesterday, a Hyndburn family came forward claiming their baby was still poorly after catching MRSA at the unit in February, seven months before the latest outbreak.

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

Heath watchdog Roy Davies said the hospital should try for a target of "zero infections".

Coun Davies, chair of the Blackburn with Darwen health scrutiny panel, said: "I want the hospital to say that there are no infections at all. There should a zero tolerance approach to completely wipe out the disease in its entirety - that should be the aim."

Jo Cubbon, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said she was "very disappointed" the trust had failed on the MRSA target.

She said: "I can assure everyone we are fully aware we need to do better in these areas and in particular to continue to drive down levels of MRSA bacteraemia (the type of infection that occurs in hospital)."

She said a range of improvements have been implemented since the end of 2006/7 in April.

Ms Cubbon said: "We are confident we have made significant further progress on a number areas since the period these ratings were produced.

She said that this year targets are being beaten.

She said that so far there have been 11 cases against a trajectory of 17.