Hospital bosses are investigating a hospital, after seven patients from one ward tested positive for the Clostridium difficile bacterium.
The patients at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, Fife, were first taken ill on Friday, prompting the immediate closure of the ward to new admissions, Fife’s NHS board said.
“The patients are being nursed in isolation as part of NHS Fife’s standard operational procedure, and enhanced infection control measures have been put in place,” a spokesperson added.
The outbreak follows a similar one at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire, in which 18 people died. As a result a Labour member of the Scottish Parliament had to call for an inquiry into infection control methods in hospitals throughout Scotland.
Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, said she was “very concerned” at the latest outbreak and would seek assurances that infection control guidelines were being followed.
“Families have an absolute right to know, that when their loved ones go into hospital they will be cared for in clean and safe conditions,” she said.
“This new outbreak in Dunfermline underlines the need for a full public inquiry on C difficile so that lessons can be learned from the recent tragedy at the Vale of Leven, where 18 people died.”
Copyright PA Business 2008
