FAILURE to halt the spread of infection has emerged as one of the reasons behind the ban on new admissions at a Hampshire hospital.

Health chiefs have barred Hythe Hospital from accepting any more patients for at least three months in a move that has raised fears for its future.

Hampshire Community Health Care (HCHC), which runs the 90-year-old hospital, says staff shortages are the main reason for the ban.

A HCHC spokesman said the past four months had been “particularly difficult”, with 75 lost bed days during that period.

But they say an inability to control infection has contributed to the decision, said to have been taken in the interests of patient safety.

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She added: “Staff have worked hard to meet our stringent infection control standards. However, the environment at Hythe has presented significant challenges in achieving this.”

HCHC has not released any information about the type of infection involved or the reason why it has proved so difficult to contain.

However, one staff member said the hospital had a good track record when it came to containing infections such as Clostridium difficile and the sickness and vomiting Norovirus bug.

“We were told that staff shortages and infection control issues were the reason for the hospital’s closure,” said the hospital worker.

“From that, the public will assume we have a high rate of infection which is simply not the case. Its because infection control covers things like how effective are old Victorian drains are.”

Hythe Hospital caters for patients who are well enough to leave Southampton General Hospital but still require rehabilitation.

Ironically, HCHC has blamed competition from Southampton General Hospital for the staff shortages that have led to the ban on new admissions.

The spokesman said staffing levels at the hospital had continued to drop as employees either left or retired.

She denied that HCHC could solve the problem using agency nurses.

“They would not be employees of HCHC and may not have the right level of understanding of our policies, procedures and standards,” she said.

Asked why nurses had not been brought in from elsewhere the spokesman said other hospitals had no spare staff.

Hythe County Councillor Brian Dash said: “Infection control at the hospital has never been brought to my attention before. It’s news to me.

“The hospital is valued by the people who use it.”

All of the hospital’s outpatient clinics are continuing as normal.