THE borough's primary care trust has admitted it is one of the worst in the country for meeting core government healthcare standards.

In a report, sent to health watchdog the Healthcare Commission, Brent teaching Primary Care Trust (tPCT) declared it had failed to meet 14 out of 44 performance targets last year.

It admitted failing to observe parts of the hygiene code, which was introduced in October 2006 amid growing concerns about the superbug MRSA, as well as failing to meet expected standards in the managing of clinical records and the training and recruitment of staff.

The trust also said it had not followed all procedures to make sure child patients were protected.

Mark Easton, chief executive of the tPCT, said he was disappointed by the results.

"We have an action plan that sets out how we shall be compliant with all the standards in the coming year and we are on target to achieve this," he added.

Across the NHS a higher number of trusts said they were meeting performance targets compared with 2006/7, but in London the standards have dropped.

Brent tPCT, which receives money from the government to control local health care, was one of only four trusts which admitted failing on at least 14 core standards, putting it automatically into the 'weak' grading.

And local health campaigner Sarah Cox thinks it is down to its recent financial blunders that saw it fall into £23m worth of debt.

"I'm sure the results are down to the financial situation," she said. "We predicted the cuts in services would be very damaging to the health care of the most vulnerable people such as children, and it has proved to be true."

The declarations were made by all 391 health trusts across the country as part of the Healthcare Commission's annual performance assessment report.

They will now be cross-checked by the health watchdog, who will announce the final performance ratings in October.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the healthcare commission, said: "When it comes to assessing NHS performance, these declarations offer us and the public a critical piece of the jigsaw.

"They tell us how well trusts think they are performing against the government's standards for the NHS."

Mark Easton, chief executive for Brent tPCT, said: "Work is currently underway to ensure all policies are approved by the infection control committee by July this year to ensure we are compliant for next year.

"The 32 individual cases of bloodstream infections reported last year was a 37 per cent reduction on the previous year and there is a significant amount of work being carried out with our NWLHT [North West London Hospitals Trust] colleagues to meet the national target.

"This includes the hand hygiene campaign, deep cleaning, staff awareness training and working towards screening all admissions for MRSA."