The government yesterday announced it will send teams of experts into hospitals that are failing to get MRSA rates down, as the latest figures revealed that "superbug" infections are still on the rise.

A government campaign, aimed at improving hand hygiene, detection rates, coping strategies and awareness, has failed to cut infection rates, which were higher for the past six months than they were in the same period last year. "I'm disappointed that despite many trusts making significant reductions in infections the overall figures do not reflect these improvements," said health minister Jane Kennedy. "We think better reporting is a factor but we would still expect the NHS to do better. It must do better."

Former health secretary John Reid set a target for hospitals to halve MRSA infection rates by 2008. Around 50% of hospital trusts are on course to do that, say ministers, but the rest are lagging behind. Infection control teams will now go in to 20 of those trusts, beginning with three - Sandwell, Northumbria and Aintree - said not to be the worst but to have volunteered for help.

The latest figures show that there were 3,580 MRSA bacteraemia reports - cases where patients have become ill from bloodstream infections - between April and September 2005. During the same period in 2004 there were 3,525 cases. In the year to last September there were a total of 7,269 infections. Kidney patients who need regular dialysis account for one in 10 cases of MRSA infection because of the needles that have to be inserted into their bloodstream.

But there were no other simple reasons why some trusts were doing worse than others, Ms Kennedy said. All hospitals now have hand hygiene policies.

Brian Duerden, inspector of microbiology at the Department of Health, said improvements had been made to the reporting system at the HPA. Hospitals will have to report cases of MRSA online.

"Patients need to be reassured that the NHS is doing all it can to minimise the risk of MRSA infections. To do this we need to get to the bottom of why some trusts seem to be better at handling hospital acquired infections than others," said Jamie Rentoul of the Healthcare Commission.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said: "It is a scandal that the most recent figures are actually worse than those for a year earlier, despite the endless strategy documents, taskforces and ministerial announcements."

Superbug cases

Highest MRSA rates

1 Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust

2 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

3 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

Lowest MRSA rates

166 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust

165 Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

164 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust