Romania's Health Minister Patriciu Achimas-Cadariu has resigned in a dispute over the use of sub-standard disinfectants in hospitals.

He stepped down on Monday after the Health Ministry announced last week that 50 out of 290 public hospitals checked around the country had been using inefficient disinfectants.

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has accepted the resignation, and announced he would coordinate the Health Ministry’s activity himself until the issue is solved, according to romania-insider.com.

Ciolos has set up a working group to draft short-term and medium-term measures to increase safety in Romanian hospitals. The working group comprises specialists from the public healhcare system, researchers and consultants.

The disinfectants sold by local company Hexi Farma had been found to have concentrations up to 10 times lower compared to those mentioned on the labels, thus posing infection risks for patients treated in the hospitals that used those diluted disinfectants.