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The Care Quality Commision (CQC), a newly created overseer and “super-regulator” for health and social care, has taken little time in flexing its enforcement muscles by identifying 21 National Health Service (NHS) trusts that aren’t meeting government specified hygiene standards in protecting their patients from the risk of infection.

Among those failing were 10 adult hospital trusts, 5 primary care trusts, 4 mental health trusts and 1 ambulance trust. The 21 trusts cited are among a total of 388 trusts which the CQC is charged with overseeing. If the 21 care facilities identified don’t take immediate and rigorous steps to correct the conditions noted, they will be subject to stiffer enforcement measures such as fines and possible closure.

The CQC is taking more stringent oversight actions to reduce the incidence of all infections, but particularly MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) a superbug, ant-biotic resistant staph infection, and Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis. One more hopeful note of the government report is an indication that, overall, the rate of both of these infections is on the decline.

Commission chairman Barbara Young said, “While infection rates at these (21) trusts are not necessarily higher, they can do more to strengthen their approaches to infection control and help prevent outbreaks, we will monitor their performance throughout the year and will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers to protect patients’ safety where needed.”

The 21 trusts identified in the report are: Alder Hey Children’s foundation trust, Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals trust, Barnet, Enfield And Haringey mental health trust, Barts and The London trust, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership trust, Herefordshire primary care trust, Isle of Wight primary care trust, Kettering General Hospital foundation trust, Leeds Partnerships foundation trust, Leeds Teaching Hospitals trust, Lewisham primary care trust,Manchester primary care trust, Medway foundation trust, North Bristol trust, Plymouth Hospitals trust, Royal Surrey County Hospital trust, Somerset primary care trust, South West London and St George’s mental health trust, United Lincolnshire Hospitals trust, West Sussex primary care trust, Yorkshire Ambulance Service trust.