THE heartbroken children of a "glamorous granny" have accused health chiefs of a whitewash because they did not record that she had MRSA when she died.

But hospital bosses say they took the correct decision and are only required to record blood infections of MRSA.

Sybil Gwilliam, of Malvern, was told by a nurse she had the superbug on her body shortly before she died at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on Sunday, January 6.

The 79-year-old great grandmother's death certificate records that she died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), but her family say she was kept in isolation because doctors found traces of MRSA inside her nose.

Her son Andy Mapp and daughter Lynette Warner were furious when they learnt that the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS did not record that she had MRSA when they published their December figures.

Mr Mapp, aged 52, of Graham Road, Malvern, who held his mum's hand when she died, said: "We read in the Worcester News that there was only a single case of MRSA on December 23 and when we saw that two days after she died we were shaken. It was horrible.

"Doctors and nurses are so overstretched - I don't blame them but they send out these press releases to make themselves look better.

But the trust says its figures are accurate because it is only required by law to record blood infections of MRSA, not instances where it is found on the skin of patients.

Mrs Gwilliam was told by a nurse she had MRSA in her nose on December 29 last year after she was re-admitted to the hospital on Christmas Day following a chest infection.

Mrs Warner, aged 48, landlady of the The Express Inn in Quest Hills Road, Malvern, said: "I had MRSA myself three years ago, also at Worcestershire Royal. I couldn't do anything for four months - I was a wreck. I couldn't even cook a meal but I survived it."

Former Kays worker Mrs Gwilliam raised her children in Dines Green, Worcester and has seven great grandchildren.

Mrs Warner said: "She was never one of those old grannies you see doddering around. Even when she was dying she was thinking of other people - she was always thinking of others before herself."

Mr Mapp said: "I'm still in limbo really. I find it so hard to believe she died so quickly. It wasn't expected, even by the hospital. The least I can expect is for the hospital to be honest about the fact that she had MRSA when she died.

"She never looked her age and she always seemed very young. I remember her last words. She said where are you going?' I said "down the pub for a couple of pints". She said I don't blame you son'."

A spokesman for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was able to talk to consultant microbiologists working within the trust but was not able to discuss individual cases.

She said: "Many people carry MRSA as a bacterium on their skin and often in their nose. This does not mean they have an MRSA infection and it does not cause any harm. It is only when MRSA bacterium penetrate a wound or enter the body by some other route, and overwhelm its defences that problems occur.

"We are screening patients throughout the hospitals all the time and approximately 30 per cent of people have Staph aureus in their nose and a proportion of these will be those with meticillin resistant Staph aureus - MRSA.

"Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust takes infection prevention and control very seriously and is working hard with staff, visitors and patients to ensure that we maintain a high standard of cleanliness and promote our zero tolerance approach to infection."

The funeral is scheduled to be held today (Monday, January 21) at St John's Church, St John's, Worcester, at 1.15pm.

Everyone who knew her is welcome to attend the service and donations will be made in aid of the chest clinic.

She will be buried next to her husband, Vic Gwilliam, in St John's cemetery and donations will go to Worcester Chest Clinic.