Published: Saturday, 9th August, 2008 12:00
Nine dead in six months
By Eric Baxter
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BUG RATE: The IRH.
NINE patients died in Inverclyde Royal Hospital in just six months because of the superbug C. diff, a health board report has revealed.
The shocking news follows the revelation that 18 patients died in Vale of Leven Hospital due to an outbreak of Clostridium difficile.
At the IRH, 56 patients contracted the bug during that period and nine died.Now West of Scotland MSP Ross Finnie, left, says any public inquiry into the Vale of Leven should also include the IRH.
The statistics cover the period from December last year to May this year. Mr Finnie highlighted part of the independent review into C. diff deaths which, he said, showed Argyll and Clyde Health Board and its successor, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, had ‘taken their eye off the ball’ on disease control.
He said: “This happened in hospitals like the Vale and IRH where Argyll and Clyde and then Greater Glasgow were running down services.”
The review report stated: “The Vale of Leven Hospital has been under threat of closure for more than 10 years.
“Uncertainties over the future of the hospital led to lack of investment in the upgrading and maintenance of the hospital.
“In addition, the hospital site appeared to be given a lower priority than other sites in the implementation of policies, surveillance systems and staff development.
“The facilities at the Vale of Leven Hospital were inadequate for effective patient isolation and infection control, and there were frequent patient transfers between wards.”
Mr Finnie said: “There are other hospitals run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, such as the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, which have been treated in the same way as the Vale of Leven.
“How can the patients in these hospitals have confidence that they are not being left at risk from hospital-acquired infections?”
He backed calls from the families of the
victims of the Vale of Leven outbreak for a full independent public inquiry.
Mr Finnie said: “The report is damning in its conclusions.
“It is clear from the report that the way NHS Argyll and Clyde, and then NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, ran the hospital down in preparation for eventual closure resulted in it failing to meet the standards of hygiene and infection control which patients could expect.
“Despite the Health Secretary agreeing to accept the recommendations of the review group, there is still a pressing need for an independent public inquiry into what happened at the Vale of Leven Hospital given the severe criticism of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde contained within the report.”
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