BOSSES at the Royal Bolton Hospital are to make a bid for thousands of pounds to beat killer superbugs.

Measures to fight MRSA and Clostridium Difficile have been announced by the Government as part of its latest NHS action plan.

A £50 million national fighting fund has been set up to help hospitals pay for new hygiene initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of the infections.

Once reduction targets have been set, every health trust in the country will be entitled to bid for up to £300,000 each.

Andrew Cogan, divisional manager for diagnostics and therapy at Royal Bolton Hospital, said: "We certainly hope to be successful when bidding for this extra cash, but we already have a raft of measures in place and we are working very hard with all of our staff about the risks of infection control."

The Royal Bolton Hospital has introduced a series of stringent controls to help fight infection on its wards.

But cases of Clostridium Difficile, which can cause severe diarrhoea, rose by almost a half at the Royal Bolton Hospital last year, from 208 in 2004 to 297 in 2005.

Chiefs at the hospital also failed to meet MRSA targets. Six cases of the bug, which can cause severe and progressive infections, were diagnosed at the hospital in October - four above the set target.

There has already been 20 cases of MRSA at the Royal Bolton Hospital since April, one less than was expected for the entire financial year.