The infection rate at West Herts hospitals has fallen over the last five years according to new figures.

Hospital chiefs say the results at the hospitals in Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead are reflective of improved processes for cleaning, strict hand hygiene and regular staff training.

In the last year West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust's rates of Clostridium difficile, also known as antibiotic associated diarrhoea, dropped by 18 per cent, and, in the last five years, improved by more than half.

Professor Tracey Carter, chief nurse and executive director responsible for infection prevention and control, said: "We are extremely encouraged by the continued reduction in the number of infections at our hospitals.

"This is down to the hard work of staff and represents a huge improvement in the quality of care we are able to give our patients.

"Reducing healthcare associated infections has been a key priority for our hospitals over recent years.

"Our mantra has been: the standard you walk past is the standard you accept and we have empowered every member of staff to take responsibility for the area in which they work in order to ensure that we maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene across all our hospitals.

"Ideally, not a single preventable infection should be allowed to develop in our hospitals, and that is our goal for the future."