Even flagship is not immune, says survey

Link: Scotsman.com

EDINBURGH Royal Infirmary is Scotland's flagship hospital, built at a cost of £183 million and with state-of-the-art facilities. But being the country's newest hospital does not make it immune to the problem of superbugs. Click to learn more... The results of the Health Protection Scotland survey published yesterday showed that on a single day, more than 11 per cent of patients treated at the infirmary had a healthcare associated infection (HAI). But the ERI has put much effort into combating HAIs. Every one of its 860 beds has alcohol hand-gels so that visitors and staff can clean their hands. The hospital also has special procedures in place to deal with patients having invasive treatments, such as drips. And a network of "cleanliness champions" also ensures cleaning standards remain high. Dr Alison McCallum, the director of public health at NHS Lothian, said part of the problem was that the ERI was treating some of the sickest and most vulnerable patients in south-east Scotland. "These include many of the people at the highest risk of catching HAIs and in many cases they will already have contracted them in the community, or elsewhere, before they reach us," she said.