I WOULD like to thank the Oxford Mail for its recent accurate coverage of the complex issue of hospital infections and C.difficile mortality.

However, the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust is misquoted by your correspondent, Ben Beaumont, when he asserts that a spokesman said: "Super bugs are not a cause for concern, only a small fraction of patients who contact C.diff will die."

While it is true that only a small fraction of patients who contract C.difficle will die, at no point did we assert that hospital acquired infections are not a cause for concern.

The phrase about the apparent rise in mortality not being a cause for concern comes from the headline of the story, not the ORH quote. Our statement in full described the nature of C.difficile mortality in the context of falling levels of infections at the ORH, combined with an increased level of reporting on death certificates because of increasing awareness of the issue.

This point was accurately reflected in the original articles. Any patient death resulting from hospital acquired infection is, of course, a tragedy, and controlling infection in our hospitals is one of our highest priorities.

OLIVER FRANCIS, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals