A WATCHDOG has called an urgent "clear the air" meeting with hospital bosses after being kept in the dark over an outbreak of MRSA.

And Coun Roy Davies, chair of the Blackburn health scrutiny panel, said that the hospital needed to be more open about their battles with superbugs, particularly in the light of recent deaths in Kent.

In Kent, an NHS Trust boss is being investigated after a massive out break saw Clostridium difficile (C-diff) directly linked to 90 deaths.

And Kent hospital bosses have been criticised for not being open about the extent of the infections before it was too late.

Coun Davies said the decision not to admit that there was an MRSA problem in the neonatal intensive care unit at Royal Blackburn Hospital for a month after it was discovered was "inexcusable".

He said: "I want a meeting to find out who made the decision to keep it under wraps.

"I find it absolutely incredible that someone at the hospital has decided that they don't want to tell anyone.

"It is absolutely appalling that has happened. There must be a reason and I want to hear that reason.

"Information is now only being released after questions from the media and that is not acceptable.

"Hiding behind a veil of secrecy is not the best way to tackle a problem and I want to make sure that this doesn't happen again."

Jo Cubbon, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "I'm confident the meeting in October will provide another opportunity for us to continue to work together to make sure we can provide the highest quality services for our patients."

Earlier this week it was revealed that the neo natal intensive care unit at Royal Blackburn Hospital had been closed since mid-September after an outbreak of the aggressive PVL-strain of MRSA.

Hospital bosses said that cases were being dealt with as "swiftly as possible". They said the extent of the problem was not revealed until full tests had been carried out to discover what strain was found so "not to cause alarm."

First-time mum Jenna Hodgkiss, 20, of Marlborough Road, Accrington, became infected after being passed the superbug when breast feeding her son Kian, who is only four weeks old.

Rineke Schram, medical director for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The neonatal intensive care unit will be re-opened once we are sure that all the babies are returning a negative result when they are screened for carrying the MRSA organism on their skin.

"However as there have been no new outbreaks and the small number of babies affected is getting even smaller by the day. The NICU unit have done an excellent job in keeping the incident contained.

"The particular strain of MRSA in the unit has only just been identified and until we were in possession of all the facts we did not want to raise alarm or concern within the community."

The meeting will take place on October 22.