A HEALTH watchdog has agreed to give the Royal Blackburn Hospital a second chance in the fight against MRSA after a clear-the-air meeting.

The move comes after East Lancashire NHS Trust's failure to inform people of an outbreak in the hospital's baby unit "inexcusable."

And Blackburn councillor and chairman of the borough's health scrutiny panel, Roy Davies, called for a "zero-tolerance" approach to the disease.

But after a meeting with chief executive Jo Cubbon and acting clinical care and governance director Lynne Wissett, Coun Davies said he was happy that action was being taken to reduce the risks.

The meeting was called to "clear the air", and the hospital bosses were quizzed on the current level of MRSA, the steps being taken to reduce it, the extent of the problem, the steps being taken to reduce it, cleanliness in the hospital and communication procedures.

Last Friday, swabs taken on the wards revealed three MRSA infections, but bosses are hoping that this Friday's weekly test will reveal none.

The hospital has had a total of 11 infections so far this year, compared to 67 in the whole of last year, and is on track to meet its target of fewer than 35 cases for 2007, Coun Davies said.

Proposals for regular meetings between the trust and the scrutiny committee are also being investigated, with Burnley Council also set to be invited to attend.

Coun Davies said: "We were very concerned about the lack of communication, but as Jo Cubbon pointed out, the strategic health authority had been informed and there is actually no requirement for them to inform the council.

"And if there is an outbreak that is not in the public domain then to be honest I don't want to know about it because then I'm part of the cover-up, so to speak, but we are a watchdog and we need to know generally what's going on.

"MRSA occurs on most people's skin so they are never going to eradicate it completely and they were up-front about that, but things are obviously improving.

"What we need to do is make sure it doesn't come back and bite us again, and hopefully we can get everyone together regularly so that people understand what's going on and make informed comments on it.

"Hopefully when the tests are done this Friday there will be nobody infected and we will be able to get back to normal.

"We want to restore the confidence that has been lost and ensure people are happy to go to the Royal for treatment and feel safe about doing that."

The trust will send full response to Coun Davies's questions to the next meeting of the health scrutiny committee, on November 26.