A bigger killer than the MRSA superbug, C.diff claimed 2,247 lives in 2005 - a 69 per cent rise on the previous year. The latest figures do not record the number of deaths.

The HPA, which also released figures showing a slight drop in MRSA cases, admitted “there is still a lot of work to be done”.

But experts in infection, patients’ representatives and politicians said the Government was guilty of a “spectacular failure” to halt the rise of C.diff and described hospital hygiene as “sorely defective”. The criticism comes a week after England’s most senior doctor attacked hospitals for “unacceptably low levels” of hygiene.

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said the failure of doctors and nurses to wash their hands was a key factor behind the superbug crisis.

A Healthcare Commission report  released on 25th July 2007 blames pressure to meet treatment targets and cut waiting lists for lapses in infection control in many hospitals.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb urged hospitals to clamp down on staff who break hygiene rules.

He said: “The Government’s strategy to deal with superbugs has spectacularly failed to halt the rise of Clostridium difficile, with deadly consequences.

“Hospital staff should treat failure to comply with hygiene standards as a very serious issue, akin to gross misconduct.

“Disciplinary action may be required to ensure that standards are met and lives are saved.”

Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, said high bed occupancy rates left staff unable to clean wards thoroughly between admissions.

She added: “We have let this get completely out of control. People shouldn’t be dying of something they didn’t go into hospital for in the first place.”

Professor Hugh Pennington, a leading microbiologist and president of MRSA Action UK, described hospital hygiene as “sorely defective”.

He said that while cases of MRSA had fallen by 10 per cent, with 6,378 between April 2006 and March 2007, much remained to be done.

“The drop is quite a small one and the problem remains,” he said. “The target to be aiming for is a 90 per cent drop and we are not going to be there any time soon.”

Kate Jopling, of Help the Aged, said: “It is a relief that levels of MRSA are starting to decrease but it will be cold comfort to grieving families who have lost loved ones to avoidable hospital infections.”

Clostridium difficile exists naturally in the stomachs of many healthy adults, where it is kept under control by “friendly” bacteria. The problems start if the balance of bacteria is disturbed, perhaps as a result of taking antibiotics for another infection.

Once the “friendly” bacteria are killed off, the C.diff is able to multiply and produce the toxins which cause diarrhoea and, in the worst cases, a potentially fatal infection of the abdomen.

The spread of the bacterium, via hardy spores, is swift.

But it can be combated using simply soap and water, while powerful disinfectants can keep hospital floors bug-free.

The National Audit Office estimates there are 300,000 cases a year of hospital-acquired infections, including C.diff and MRSA, and at least 5,000 deaths.