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It is likly that the antibodic hand washing that does go on enhances the resistance of the bacteria. If it's resistant to methicillin what makes you think hand washing will kill it. I think it's an easy scape goat for something they don't understand.

Exactly. You could have a hospital that was to the highest standard of hygiene and still have MRSA. Staph bacteria lives on you at this very moment. Every time people walk in and out of the hospital, they are carrying this bacteria around with them. The higher standards of hygiene in hospitals and the liberal use of antibiotics is what created the Super Staph in the first place. If you have it living on your skin, in your nose whatever and then you get sick and go in the hospital for an operation, there is basically no way the hospital can cleanse you of it. While you're sick or recovering from your operation, your immune system is going to be depressed and you are much likelier to come down with one of these infections.

The bacteria also spread from hospital to hospital with patient transfers. We've created these super bacteria and now we can't get rid of them. I understand the Evening Standard wants to have a nice juicy story and people here like to beat up on social medicine (I really like beating up on social medicine myself) but this isn't really a social medicine issue. These Super Staph bacteria will become more of a problem in the US as well as time goes by...

The surfactants in the soaps do most of the killing, though I fear I agree with you regarding the anti-biotics being put into soaps. Regular hand scrubbing with a good all purpose soap(not reusable bar soap), will kill most live bacteria due to the disruptions in their cell membranes caused by the surfactant action of the soap.

How do I know this? I'm an RN in an American ICU.

I doubt that even the most anti-biotic resistant bug(they tend to be less hardy out side of the hospital enviroments than their less anti-biotic resistant cousins) will ever become resistant to a good soap scrubbing and clean water rinsing. Fresh bar soap is good for cleansing out septic wounds as the continued control of bacterial counts is one of the main keys to effective wound healing.