Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 April 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its response to the report in the Evening Times on 29 March 2017 highlighting concerns regarding cleanliness at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Patients and the public deserve to have complete confidence in the cleanliness of Scottish hospitals and the quality of NHS services. That is why we have introduced these inspections as one of a range of measures to tackle healthcare associated infections. I have made clear my expectation that all health boards across Scotland must make cleanliness and infection control a priority.
Clearly this was a disappointing report and fell short of the required standards of environmental cleanliness and the state of patient equipment. I recently met with the board's chair and incoming Chief Executive to set out my concerns with the report's findings and made it very clear that I expect these to be addressed as a priority.
I have been personally reassured that the board are addressing the issues identified and they have an action plan in place to drive forward improvements. The board have also requested support from Health Protection Scotland to assist this process.