- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will actively seek to learn lessons from the 32% drop in the number of cases of Clostridium difficile in England.
Answer
We are always willing to learn from other countries, and the Scottish Government has done so for many years. Our key stakeholders on the HAI Task Force are in regular contact with their counterparts around the world “ including the Department of Health “ so both they and we can learn from each other on the most effective approaches that are being taken towards tackling Clostridium difficile and other Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs). It is also the case that both the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorate and the Scottish Infection Research Network (SIRN) at Glasgow University encourage and support innovative research and projects into HAI to ensure that our approach continues to evolve.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Quality Improvement Scotland undertakes unannounced visits of hospitals to check standards.
Answer
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) does not undertake unannounced visits of hospitals to check standards. NHS QIS reviews the performance of NHS boards against its standards in accordance with its planned work programme. Further information regarding the work of NHS QIS is available from their website
www.nhshealthquality.org.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a robust independent inspection regime for all hospitals.
Answer
NHS boards are accountable for the quality and safety of the NHS services they provide including those provided in hospitals. A range of scrutiny and performance management arrangements are in place including annual reviews by Scottish ministers held in public.
The future of scrutiny arrangements in the public sector, including the NHS, is being considered as part of the Scottish Government''s response to the Report of the Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland (The Crerar Review).
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that scrutiny of hospitals should be conducted by a process similar to those of the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education for care facilities and schools respectively.
Answer
NHS boards are accountable for the quality and safety of the NHS services they provide including those provided in hospitals. A range of scrutiny and performance management arrangements are in place including annual reviews by Scottish ministers held in public.
The future of scrutiny arrangements in the public sector, including the NHS, is being considered as part of the Scottish Government''s response to the Report of the Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland (The Crerar Review).
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what key issues will be considered and measures taken in the (a) prevention, (b) containment and (c) transmission of Clostridium difficile.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15205 on 18 August 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance is issued to NHS boards and hospitals on containment measures to be used for patients suffering from Clostridium difficile.
Answer
Guidance to NHS boards is provided in the Standard Infection Control Precautions model policies produced by Health Protection Scotland (HPS). HPS is currently drafting new overarching national guidance on Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) which will set out the containment measures that should be used for patients with Clostridium difficile. As advised in previous answers, the Scottish Government''s HAI Task Force has been informed by HPS that the draft CDAD guidance will be provided to them in September 2008.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-14337 by Nicola Sturgeon on 15 July 2008 and given that she was “aware of the cases of Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven in late May”, why she did not instruct a look-back exercise earlier than June.
Answer
Investigations by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde into cases of Clostridium difficile were on-going in late May 2008 and I was being kept regularly informed of the situation that was emerging. As evidence was still being gathered, and as the situation was being actively managed by the board public health professional team with specialist advice from Health Protection Scotland, it would not have been appropriate for me to intervene in that process by instructing a look back exercise any earlier than June.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it uses the information from the Rapid Review Panel to inform its own policy in relation to products that will help combat hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile.
Answer
Yes.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Vale of Leven Hospital was last inspected by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland; which areas of the hospital were inspected, and what were the conclusions and recommendations.
Answer
I am advised by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland that it''s predecessor body, the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, visited NHS Argyll and Clyde in 2004-05 as part of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) standards peer review programme. The methodology used at that time meant that the board carried out a local self-assessment at board level rather than individual hospital site level. The external peer review team then assessed performance by considering the board''s self-assessment data and visited the board to validate and discuss the data provided.
Revised and updated HAI standards were published in March 2008 and NHS boards are now carrying out local self assessments against them.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has an equivalent to the Rapid Review Panel reporting to the Health Protection Agency in England.
Answer
No. The Rapid Review Panel assesses equipment, materials and other products that may be of value to the NHS as a whole, including NHS Scotland.
