THE Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, has described C-diff outbreaks at three Kent hospitals as "a scandal".

A Healthcare Commission report claims at least 90 people died after becoming infected with the bug at Maidstone Hospital, Pembury Hospital and the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells.

The report criticises the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust over its handling of two outbreaks between October 2005 and September 2006.

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4: "The report shows a catalogue of errors.

"Advice from the chief medical officer was ignored, there was complacency about antibiotics, equipment was shared without proper cleaning, and they didn't create a ward dedicated to C-diff patients."

He categorically denied government targets were responsible for the failures.

He said: "To suggest this report reflects what is happening in NHS Trusts across the country is wrong.

"There will be clinicians who have dealt with targets but have still maintained the highest safety standards.

"There is no excuse for what happened at this particular Trust, for anyone to say this is because of government targets set centrally is just ridiculous."

He described the photographs accompanying the report as "disgraceful" but said he thought the situation at the three hospitals is now very different.

Mr Johnson said he was going to insist the chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust sent a copy of the report to every other trust in the country so that lessons could be learnt.