NOTTINGHAM The number of patients contracting the Clostridium difficile superbug may cause huge problems for the NHS, a coroner said.

C. difficile was linked to the deaths of nine patients at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and three at the City Hospital in a four-week period during the past two months, Nigel Chapman, the Nottinghamshire Coroner, said. The infection can lead to death in the vulnerable and elderly.

Dr Chapman emphasised that C. difficile was not the ultimate cause of death in most cases that he had seen, but he was worried by the rise in instances of the bug, adding that it could be a “huge problem” for the NHS. He planned to hold inquests over two cases.

Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, announced this month that trusts will be able to bid for up to £300,000 each to help to combat the bug. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said that it was a national problem that doctors were taking extremely seriously.