A hospital trust has not had a single case of the superbug MRSA for 1,000 days – the best performance in England.

Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust has transformed the way it works so patients are not exposed to infection from themselves or other people.

Bosses credit their success to training staff to treat patients without touching key parts of instruments which come into contact with skin.

Patients are also advised not to touch their wounds, to wash their hands before meals and after visiting the lavatory, and staff and visitors are also asked to wash their hands regularly.

The hospital also carries out random screening to check whether people have washed their hands effectively.

The last case of the infection at the trust was in April 2009 – making Trafford’s hospitals the best for stamping out MRSA in the country.

Now the trust, which runs Trafford General, Altrincham General and Stretford Memorial hospitals, is thanking patients, staff and hospital visitors for their role – and encouraging them to keep MRSA at bay for another 1,000 days.

Morag Olsen, the trust’s interim chief executive, said: "We are immensely proud, but far from complacent, of our outstanding achievement in preventing MRSA bacteraemia.

"Every single staff member, patient and hospital visitor has played a part in this by washing their hands, which is why we are... encouraging them to help us keep MRSA at bay for another 1,000 days.

"We also carry out thorough MRSA screening, use aseptic techniques known to reduce infection risk when inserting drips and cannulas, and have incorporated features that combat bacteria and viruses into all our hospital refurbishments."

Most people carry the MRSA bacteria on their skin. It is usually harmless, but can be deadly if it gets into blood. Hospital patients are particularly at risk because MRSA can get into their bloodstream through wounds or procedures that puncture the skin.

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