C.diff outbreaks: Nurses quizzed
Updated on 14 January 2009
Nurses are to be questioned by police over a string of deaths during a Clostridium difficile outbreak at a hospital.
The nurses at Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, are now seeking legal advice.
The outbreak was linked to 18 deaths at the hospital and affected 55 people between December 2007 and June last year.
Police and health inspectors launched an investigation following the publication of an independent report last summer.
Norman Provan, of the Royal College of Nurses Scotland, told Nursing Standard magazine: "This is a difficult time for staff at the Vale of Leven. For those who are asked to attend police interviews, we are arranging for them to meet with our legal advisers before being interviewed."
It is unusual for police to question NHS staff over outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections, the magazine said.
Both Strathclyde Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are involved in the inquiry and aim to submit reports to the procurator fiscal by March next year.
A major incident room with a team of officers has been set up at Dumbarton Police Station, while the HSE team has three inspectors and three specialists.
Victims' relatives have called for a public inquiry into the Vale of Leven deaths but Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has said she is reluctant to launch such an inquiry while a police investigation is ongoing.
The Scottish Government announced new rules this week which will compel health boards to monitor hospital bug infections more closely. Rates of infection for the MRSA and C diff bugs will have to be reported at frequent intervals for each hospital.
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