New figures have revealed that deaths from the MRSA "superbug" have doubled over the last four years to reach 955 in 2003.

Christine Beasley, the chief nursing officer, said: "There is no one simple solution to preventing infection, but we are taking a whole range of actions in fighting the superbug and it is a top priority for this government and the NHS."

But Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, said hospital bosses were more concerned with meeting performance indicators.

"Florence Nightingale said the first requirement of any hospital is that it should not harm its patients, but patients are dying because of Mr Blair's targets," he said.

Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, added: "Labour have made things worse by giving political targets a higher priority than cleaning hospitals and fighting infections."