AN investigation has been launched into an increase in infections among vulnerable patients at Manchester's Christie Hospital .

Hospital directors brought in Greater Manchester's former health chief to lead the inquiry into the number of people catching three superbugs on the haematology unit.

Preliminary findings of a month-long review in February suggest infection rates at the unit - which cares for people suffering from leukaemia - are within normal levels. But they have decided to recruit extra staff to prevent infections and change the management of the unit so that the situation can be monitored more closely.

Cases of hospital acquired infection GRE were up from 37 in 2006 to 42 last year.

There were no cases of MRSA in 2006, but two last year and there was a slight decrease in cases of Clostridium difficile to 20 from 21.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "The independent review concluded that the infection levels were not above those expected for a unit of this type - and has made a number of recommendations in seven areas.

"Cancer patients are particularly susceptible to infections due to the disease and the strong treatments they need, but nevertheless we have very low infection rates across our hospital in comparison to other cancer units.

Vigilant

"We work extremely hard to keep infections low and this review is part of a very vigilant and proactive approach."

Patients on the haematology unit suffer from acute leukaemia, multiple myeloma and Hodgkins lymphoma.

They are often treated with chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, which weakens their immune system, leaving them vulnerable to infection.

Following the investigation, Christie bosses will increase their microbiology and virology services from the specialist Health Protection Agency to investigate infections. They are also recruiting two new infection control nurses.

They are working hard to reinforce the importance of hand-washing, using `no touch' techniques to treat patients and introducing extra monitoring techniques.

The Christie has had some of the lowest levels of infection in the region and the independent review found C. diff rates were medium and MRSA rates low in comparison to national rates.