A care worker who had enjoyed perfect health throughout his life died of MRSA three weeks after being admitted to hospital for minor surgery.

David Ham was admitted to the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards to have fluid removed from under his lungs but contracted the killer virus and died.

Now the 60-year-old's widow is threatening to sue medical chiefs for negligence unless they take action to prevent MRSA claiming any more lives.

A pathologist's report revealed Mr Ham's body was infected with MRSA in the four places hospital staff had inserted tubes into his body after he was admitted.

The father-of-two had caught the superbug in the two wounds made for drainage tubes, in his neck where his tachometer had been, and in his mouth.

Although the infection was not in his blood, the pathologist reported MRSA had most likely caused the pneumonia and adult respiratory distress syndrome which killed him.

Mr Ham's widow, Marion, 59, of Amherst Road, Bexhill, has met with hospital bosses to complain about her husband's treatment.

She claims during the meeting a senior consultant admitted Mr Ham died of a hospital-borne infection and the procedure should not have been performed in a general ward.

Mrs Ham, a curtain maker, said: "When a large entry hole is made in the human body it should be done in sterile conditions.

"But this was done in a general ward where the next person along had no control over his bodily functions.

"He was treated next to a man who had defecated and urinated in his bed.

"The conditions in the hospital were filthy and the treatment my husband received was worse than that in the Third World.

"I have lost my husband to an infection which could have been avoided."

Mr Ham was not screened for MRSA when he was admitted to the hospital on October 6 last year and a low-risk general test a few days after the operation came back negative.

Over the next week, Mr Ham's health rapidly deteriorated and he could not raise a glass to his lips or walk the toilet unaided.

But Mrs Ham claims nurses failed to register his ailing health on his medical card and reported he was still able to carry out basic requirements for himself.

He was not screened again for MRSA until he was taken into intensive care on October 14 when swabs taken from his entry wounds came back positive for the bug.

Mr Ham died on October 27 - killed by illnesses brought on by the virus.

His widow says she will reluctantly sue the hospital for negligence unless a sterile room is built to carry out minor surgery without the risk of infection.

She said: "I was horrified he wasn't screened for infection on admission because anybody could be carrying it into the wards.

"For two days my husband wasn't fed, they didn't wash him or clean his teeth.

"I'm not asking for financial compensation for myself but rather for the Conquest spend the money on making a sterilised area.

"It would cost pennies compared to what they will have to pay me if I go to litigation and win.

"I am fighting this cause because if it makes an improvement in the cleanliness of the hospital then he didn't die in vain."

The NHS Litigation Authority has paid out £14.8 million on behalf of East Sussex Hospitals Trust in the past five years.

East Sussex Hospitals spokeswoman Helen Priest said staff were right to carry out the surgery in a general ward.

She said: "Mrs Ham has received a comprehensive response to the issues she has raised as well as meeting a number of senior staff who have provided her with information and explanations to some of the issues.

"If appropriate care is taken in creating a sterile field using appropriate antiseptics and sterile technique, the risk of introducing infection at the time of chest drain insertion should be very low."