West Middlesex University Hospital said it was “disappointed” that one of its patients contracted MRSA at the hospital during the past year.

The hospital, in Isleworth, has a target of zero MRSA cases a year but one occurred during the past 12 months, despite the number of cases falling in recent years.

Eight patients also acquired C. difficile infections – which can cause diarrhoea – during that time but that was below West Mid’s target of nine cases.

The figures were revealed the hospital’s board meeting papers for March 2016.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “All cases of C. difficile are investigated fully, using a national template for root cause analysis, to determine the where we can improve, and these learning points are shared with clinical staff in the organisation.

“We will continue to focus our efforts on achieving our target and are pleased to have seen a steady decrease in C. difficile infections over the past few years.

“We are disappointed to have had one case of MRSA bacteraemia (MRSA bloodstream infection) and we will continue our rigorous infection prevention and control efforts to prevent further cases within the hospital.

“However we are again pleased to note that the number of cases of MRSA bacteraemia has also fallen steadily over the past few years.”

Its accident and emergency (A&E) department missed its target of 95 per cent of patients being seen within four hours by just 0.1 per cent.

West Mid defended its A&E record and said it had introduced a number of innovative services to help increase its ability to treat patients more effectively.

The spokesman said: “We have introduced a number of innovative new services to help increase our ability to treat patients more effectively.

“Our overall performance for the year shows that we are meeting the target despite narrowly missing it in November.

“All patients are triaged when they arrive at A&E and prioritised based on clinical need and the majority receive treatment within an hour.”

The hospital is run by the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which is on course to deliver an £11.2m deficit at year end.

The spokesman added: “For 2015/16 we have planned for a £11.2m deficit for our new combined organisation and are on track to achieve this.

“This has been agreed with Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Agency, NHS England and our commissioners as part of the due diligence around the integration of the two trusts.

“For 2016/17 our plan is to achieve a surplus of £4.5 million through improved efficiency.”