In an exclusive statement issued to the Kent Messenger, Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, has spoken about the catalogue of errors

I WOULD like to offer my condolences to the patients and families and to you the community, who have been affected by the appalling situation at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. One avoidable death from Clostridium difficile is a death too many.

There can be no excuse for this catalogue of failures. This is totally unacceptable and should not happen anywhere in the NHS. This is not just about hygiene and patient safety, it is also about respect and dignity for each individual.

Hospital cleanliness should be the last concern of patients and the first concern of everyone who works in the NHS.

I have made it clear that patient safety is an absolute priority and I expect the NHS to implement effective infection control procedures on every ward in every hospital.

Clearly, this did not happen at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and following the recommendation of the Healthcare Commission report, the Strategic Health Authority has commissioned an independent review into the leadership of the trust during the period of the outbreaks.

In addition, I have asked the Department of Health to carry out a separate review into the role of the trust chairman and the decision-making process that led to the terms and conditions of the chief executive’s departure.

This will conclude urgently and will be shared with the Appointments Commission.

Every trust has competing priorities but infection control should be the highest priority.

The failings at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust are not typical of the NHS. The hard work and effort of the vast majority of NHS staff has been vital in reducing MRSA infections.

We now need to redouble our efforts to tackle C-diff and continue this progress.

We will deep clean every hospital, ward by ward.

We have set new uniform rules so all staff are 'bare below the elbows’ to encourage better hand washing.

We have given matrons power to report directly to boards and we will give hospital inspectors the power to close wards if hygiene is not being given enough priority.

Of equal importance in C-diff cases is avoiding the overuse of antibiotics. The infection has become a problem because bacteria which help fight it have been weakened by a propensity to use antibiotics excessively. Robust plans and policies to reduce infections are in place.

But all NHS staff must take action to ensure they are following national guidance and good practice if we are to tackle this problem and get the performance of all hospitals up to the standard of the best.