I WAS in the Beatson Hospital in Glasgow last week to visit a friend with acute leukaemia.

There is a sophisticated automatic interlock door system controlling access to the ward.

There is a bottle of hand gel in the interlock area but no requirement to use it.

The ward houses patients with compromised immune systems as a result of their course of therapy. Any infection for these patients could well be fatal. Yet basic hygiene steps are not taken to prevent dangerous pathogens being introduced to the ward.

There was a major outbreak of C-diff infection at the Vale of Leven Hospital in 2007/8. Thirty-four people died as a result. Nicola Sturgeon, the then Health Secretary, delayed the inquiry by five years.

The McLean Report into the outbreak cost the taxpayer £10 million. Senior counsel on both sides were limited to £8,000 a week in expenses. There were 75 recommendations in the McLean Report, only one of which suggested better hand hygiene entering a hospital ward. This was a mere suggestion.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major health problem today. There are large posters warning of the dangers of MRSA in hospitals around the country but no effective action is being taken.

Hand gels alone do not solve the problem but they are an important first step. The cost is minimal. Otherwise we must spend billions of pounds developing more effective antibiotics to deal with the resistant bacterial strains we have selected by

overuse of the available antibiotics. The use of hand gels must be made mandatory.

Dr John A Black,

Former Professor of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon,

6 Woodhollow House, Helensburgh.