A leading figure in NHS Scotland has said that all of the city’s intensive care wards are safe for patients.

Jason Leech, National clinical director for NHS Scotland, said there is no better place in the Western world for parents to have their premature babies treated than in the country.

His comments come after two babies died after being treated for a blood infection at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital.

An Incident Management Team (IMT) has been set up to investigate three linked cases of Staphylococcus Aureus in the neonatal unit.

Read more: Two babies die in Glasgow's Princess Royal Maternity Hospital after infection

Speaking on BBC Scotland, Mr Leech said this particular type of infection has fallen by 93 per cent in the last ten years in Scotland.

He added: “They are rare events but the fact they are rare gives us all the more opportunity to learn and aim for zero.

“Although leading the world in infection control, Scotland can get better still. And these tragic cases allow us to look again at the levels of hand washing, the levels of infection with devices, which is often how these infections are entered into the bloodstream, and other things that we can learn.

“I understand the concern of patients, I speak to these families in the units.

“I would tell the public of Glasgow and further afield, that this unit is safe and if your baby is premature and requires care, this is exactly the place you want it to be.

“We have highly skilled staff, very concerned staff about these infections who are working tirelessly to ensure these infections are kept to an absolute minimum

“There is no better place in the Western world to have your premature babies looked after than in the intensive care units in Scotland.”

Investigations are continuing into two separate fungal infections at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Read more: Two babies die in Glasgow's Princess Royal Maternity Hospital after infection

The Crown Office is examining the deaths of a 10-year-old boy and an elderly woman who were treated for an infection linked to pigeon droppings.

Following the deaths, Mr Leech said all units have undergone a “deep clean” but infection control is extremely difficult in places with high patient turnover.

He explained: “With any environment with health care which is busy when patients are admitted and discharged, there isn't any question that that is a difficult area to maintain infection control procedures.

“That is why Health Protection Scotland, Health Facilities Scotland and the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate are helping us to ensure that we’re doing all we can.

“A deep clean has been done in all of the units, that happens routinely when we have little outbreaks which unfortunately are a fact of life.

“We have started to enforce hand hygiene procedures and look again at the device insertion procedures like needles that go into these small babies and there will also be Health Protection Scotland that triggers a conversation with experts in infection control.”