PATIENTS are being screened before they are admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital to halt the spread of the MRSA superbug.

The checks were introduced after a survey revealed many patients were more afraid of catching an infection in hospital than they were of undergoing surgery.

Patients found to be infected by MRSA, or who are carrying the bug, will be treated before having surgery, but they will not be refused admission.

Those who will be screened are patients being admitted for orthopaedic surgery, neo-natal patients, anyone being admitted to intensive care or a high dependency ward and patients being transferred from other hospitals or nursing homes.

These patients are considered to be the most likely to be affected.

The screening will test them for an actual MRSA infection or for colonisation, which is when the bacteria is living on the skin. Julie Dziodon, an infection control nurse specialist, said: Very few of the MRSA bugs we find are actual infections.

"Colonisation is not harmful as we all have bacteria living on our skin. It only becomes a problem when the bacteria is in the wrong place, such as a wound."

The NHS Confederation, which has members from across the NHS and works to modernise the health service, has said that MRSA is often brought into a hospital from outside.

Chief executive of the Confederation, Dame Gill Morgan, said: "Pinning the blame on one individual would be virtually impossible.

"The causes of MRSA are complex and no single activity can eradicate it."

Hospital bosses in Bolton held an awareness day yesterday to stress to staff and visitors the importance of cleanliness in combating MRSA.

Officers from the council's environmental health department were on hand to explain how food should be cooked and stored safely.