Calls for public inquiry into Vale of Leven C.diff deaths as police investigation drags on

Published on Saturday 4 April 2009 19:57

POLICE believe it could take "years" to finish an investigation into 18 deaths linked with the hospital bug C.diff, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Officers have privately conceded that their inquiry into one of the worst outbreaks of the infection, at Vale of Leven hospital in Dunbartonshire, could take even longer than a two-year probe into a similar incident in England.

Their admission, made to the relatives of the deceased, last night added pressure on Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon to give in to demands for a public inquiry into the cases to begin before the police investigation ends.

Sturgeon had been expecting to hear back from the Crown Office on the police inquiry – which started in November – by the end of March but Strathclyde Police last night said it could give "no definitive timescale" for its completion.

Jackie Baillie MSP, whose Dumbarton constituency includes the Vale of Leven hospital, said Sturgeon should order a parallel public inquiry while memories of the circumstances that led up to the deaths were still fresh.

Baillie said: "The cabinet secretary must do as she promised and consider the case for a public inquiry to run in parallel with the police investigation.

"The cabinet secretary is now the only obstacle to the public inquiry the families need to answer their questions about how their loved-ones died."

The outbreak of Clostridium difficile, which is caused by poor hygiene and overuse of antibiotics, began at the Vale of Leven more than a year ago and lasted around six months. It affected 55 people. The bug killed nine of them and was listed as a "contributing factor" in nine more deaths.

Michelle Stewart, who lost her mother-in-law in the outbreak, last night said she saw no reason to wait.

"Our whole argument all along is that memories fade," Stewart said yesterday. "We need people to give evidence while they still remember what happened."

The Scottish Government has argued that the police should be allowed to finish their work first, in case investigation work for a public inquiry prejudiced any criminal prosecution.

Sturgeon, however, has said she is "sympathetic" to calls for a public inquiry and said she would reconsider calls for one after the expected March report into the police investigation. Scotland on Sunday understands that report is now likely to be an update, rather than a final document.

Asked if the probe could take as long as two years, a spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "This is an ongoing inquiry and Strathclyde Police are acting on the instructions of the Crown Office. No definitive timescale can be set or can be given as to how long it is going to be."