The campaign to keep Chase Farm's accident and emergency department in Enfield has been boosted by a report which criticises its sister hospital in Barnet for being dirty.

Health bosses are considering relocating the casualty ward at Chase Farm to Barnet General under a radical shake-up of hospital services.

But those opposing the plans said last week's publication by the independent body, the Healthcare Commission, justifies their campaign.

Whereas Chase Farm was placed in the second highest category of the 99 hospitals inspected during the summer, Barnet was placed in the last but one.

Inspectors, who visited the sites uninvited, said hospitals in Barnet's category would typically see many dusty surfaces, stains on walls and signs of spillage.

Enfield North MP Joan Ryan said the report showed progress at Chase Farm was being held back by its merger with Barnet a union she supported in 1999.

She said: "We've suffered from Barnet's larger deficit and now we have proof that Barnet is failing in basic standards of cleanliness.

"This is yet another example of why our A&E and maternity services should not go to Barnet and why we should de-merge so that Chase Farm is free to go from strength to strength."

And Theresa Anwell, 62, of The Close, Potters Bar, who contracted the MRSA superbug at Barnet Hospital three times after an operation in 2000, was unsurprised by the hospital's rating.

She said: "When I was there, the cleaning was either non-existent or slipshod. Despite rigorous handwashing by the nursing staff, I still got MRSA.

"My room was dusted three times in three months and once was when the sister did it herself. A back to basics' approach would not be a bad thing."

A Barnet Hospital spokeswoman said an action plan had been put in place across the whole hospital including additions to the cleaning schedules, more supervision of cleaning staff and minimum training requirements.

A Chase Farm spokeswoman said the trust's high score reflected the hardwork and good partnerships between matrons and cleaning staff.

She added: "This is a great achievement especially as parts of the hospital were built many years ago and present a real challenge to the very high standards expected today."