NOTTINGHAM'S hospital trust has sparked a row after revealing plans to remove Bibles from bedside lockers.

Bosses at the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital say the Gideon Bibles are hard to clean and it wants bedside areas and patients' lockers to be tidy and "clutter-free".

The aim of the move is to reduce rates of superbugs such as Clostridium difficile and MRSA.

But church officials say Bibles only pose a "minimal risk" of infection.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, which oversees 300 churches in Notts, said: "For many patients, [Bibles have] been a source of comfort and support through uncertainty and illness.

"It is unsatisfactory that patients may now have to ask a nurse for a Bible to look at.

"This would intrude on the personal privacy they have to read a copy from their own locker, whenever they chose to, rather than having to trouble a member of staff with a request, which they may feel unhappy to do.

"This new proposed policy does not appear to be patient-focused, as it would reduce the resources for spiritual support at a time when they are most needed."

She said other "creative solutions" should be looked at, such as plastic covers, or shrink wrapping, to reduce the risk of infection.

The trust confirmed that Bibles brought in by Gideon International would not be allowed in the lockers when first asked by the Post this week.

Medical director Dr Stephen Fowlie said the hospitals' infection control team had advised that only "essential items" were stored in lockers or left between beds.

Hospital managers and Gideon International were all informed about the decision to remove the Bibles.

But the trust later backtracked on the outright ban, claiming the idea was only one of several possible options to improve infection control and it now planned to ask people for their views on the issue.

Director of nursing Jenny Leggott said: "We will be discussing all options and taking into account all needs and views over the coming days with relevant colleagues, including chaplaincy and patients before coming to a final decision."

Other religious texts are kept in the hospital trust's multi-faith centre and are available upon request.

Prayer mats are available for patients but cannot be kept in wards while not in use.

Infection control staff have already started removing furnishings, furniture and display boards from wards because they can become contaminated by spores.

Nottingham University Hospitals Trust has reduced the number of superbugs in the last three years.

In 2005, Leicester's hospital trust considered banning Bibles from patients' bedside lockers for the same reason.

But days later bosses said that the change, criticised as "political correctness gone mad", would not go ahead.