Pressure on the Scottish Government to publish a detailed breakdown of ��hospital-acquired infections across the country was growing yesterday
Pressure on the Scottish Government to publish a detailed breakdown of hospital-acquired infections across the country was growing yesterday as new figures showed that 24 people died in a single year from the clostridium difficile bug in one of Scotland's smallest health board areas.
The demands for a nationwide review came on the same day the UK Government's chief medical officer said vaccines against both C Diff and MRSA will be available within the next decade.
Professor Sir Liam Donaldson said immunising patients against the infections would represent a "big breakthrough" in the fight against hospital-acquired infections.
Figures released by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon in response to a parliamentary question from Labour MSP Irene Oldfather reveal that on average two people in the Ayrshire and Arran health board area died from C Diff every month between June 2007 and May 2008.
Although details of where they picked up the infection were not disclosed, there are just two general hospitals - Crosshouse in Kilmarnock, and Ayr - in the health board's area.
Ms Oldfather, MSP for Cunninghame South, said she was "shocked" at the extent of the problem. The total number of cases during the 12-month period was 658, compared to 540 over the previous year.
"I was very shocked, and people will rightly be alarmed by these figures. They represent around an 18% rise from the previous year," she said.
"We have reached a stage where there must be a complete overhaul of procedures. There just is no more room for complacency. We have all been reading about the problems at the Vale of Leven Hospital, but it's not just the Vale that is affected by this problem.
"I will now table a question for the minister asking her to give a detailed breakdown of the number of cases in all of Scotland's health board areas. We had a debate on this issue in the parliament three months ago, yet the problem is getting worse. It is unacceptable that people are dying from preventable illnesses."
Last Friday Ms Sturgeon, in response to a different parliamentary question, revealed a patient died during a C Diff outbreak at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow last month.
The death came in the aftermath of an outbreak of the bug at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, which affected more than 50 patients.
A total of 18 deaths over a six-month period have been linked to the C Diff outbreak, and in half of the cases it was the main cause of death. Ms Sturgeon announced an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the outbreak at Vale of Leven, but families of some of those who died wrote to her over the weekend pushing for a public inquiry into the matter.
It was also reported over the weekend that inspectors found a series of potential health hazards at the hospital months after the outbreak began, including dirty toilets and wards with no working wash basins.
A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which operates Vale of Leven, said yesterday: "We have a rigorous cleaning programme in all of our hospitals and the Scottish Government is routinely updated about our compliance with set national standards.
"We are aware of this local snap-shot' report and acted on its contents immediately. The information within it helped us prioritise a series of actions being taken now."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "We are investing £54m over the next three years to tackle healthcare-associated infections - a 260% increase on the previous administration's funding."
Meanwhile, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson gave a preview yesterday of his annual report, due to be published today. He said it is hoped a vaccine against C Diff will be available within five years, and one against MRSA within five to 10 years.
