Health expert warns that infection could claim 'thousands of lives' in Scotland

Published on Monday 16 February 2009 20:51

HUNDREDS or even thousands of lives could be saved if a new plan to tackle hospital infections is introduced in Scotland, an expert has warned.

Last week the Scottish Parliament debated a 15-point action plan drawn up for the Labour party to tackle superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

The SNP government has pointed out that many of the points in the plan are already being dealt with in Scotland.

But leading microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said the problem was that this was not happening fast enough.

He said that the plan, which he helped produce along with Professor Brian Toft, had the potential to save "certainly hundreds, maybe thousands" of lives.

Prof Pennington said that Scotland had once led the world in infection control, but now lagged behind other countries in Europe, such as Norway, Holland and even England.

The plan includes calls for a healthcare associated infection (HAI) commissioner to co-ordinate the fight against infections and for better hand-washing facilities, such as sensor-operated taps.

It also urges improved isolation procedures in hospital and for a target to be introduced to cut rates of Clostridium difficile by 50 per cent by March 2011 – compared to the current target of 30 per cent.

Prof Pennington said things needed to start moving faster than they currently are. "I am deeply embarrassed by this whole business because I have been in this line of business for many, many years.

"I used to see Scotland as the world leader in the control of healthcare infections," he said.

Prof Pennington highlighted Scottish developments such as the discovery of the Staphylococcus aureus bug in Aberdeen in 1880 as an example of the nation's leading place in the battle with infections.

"Scotland had a fantastic track record. We are now the sick man of Europe in a sense.

"We are behind England in the debate and we are way behind Norway and way behind Holland, for example. These are countries that don't spend significantly more than we do on healthcare.

"They just put healthcare acquired infections at the top of their list for prevention for many years."

Prof Pennington said the "real scandal" was that people knew what needed to be done, but this was not happening quick enough. He said there was also a lack of properly trained microbiologists to deal with infections.

"There's a great shortage of people because as part of this whole lack of interest going back many years, we just haven't put the emphasis on training the people that we need to sort this problem out. That is why we need a healthcare commissioner to bring all this together."

Prof Pennington admitted that, as health secretary Nicola Sturgeon had suggested, several points on the 15-point plan were already been considered or were starting to be implemented.

But he said they were not getting the priority they should be.

"I don't think they are being done fast enough. I haven't seen very much progress for example in hospitals in terms of the hand-washing facilities mentioned in the plan."

Prof Pennington said with the NHS running at almost full capacity, infections had been allowed to become a growing problem.

Ms Sturgeon said she would consider ideas about how better to tackle infection "from wherever those ideas come".

She said she was "fully aware of the detail" of the action plan adding:

"Much of what's in it is already happening in Scotland. However I have formally asked the HAI task force to review the detail of the plan and consider the adoption of any action in it that it considers will add value to our existing programme."