R11 Response Accepted AI-assessed

CDI severity awareness

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that patients, and relatives where appropriate, are made aware that CDI is a condition that can be life-threatening, particularly in the elderly.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the revised Charter of Patient Rights (June 2022), NHS Health Boards are mandated to ensure patients and their relatives are made aware of the life-threatening nature of *C. difficile* infection (CDI), particularly for the elderly. According to the statutory Duty of Candour, this is supported, which requires organisations to inform affected persons about conditions and associated risks; furthermore, according to The Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2018, the process is outlined for providing information and apologies following safety incidents.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 4.2 of the Scottish Government's response describes initiatives to improve patient and family communication. The Person-centred Health and Care Collaborative developed "Must Do with Me" elements, including "what information do you need?", to ensure people are informed. Additionally, the Health Literacy Action Plan aims to enable people to have sufficient knowledge and understanding to cope with modern health care, emphasizing communicating in meaningful ways.

Read Full Response
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Good Progress
01 Jun 2022
Scottish Government Other

Patient rights strengthened through Charter of Patient Rights revised June 2022 and statutory Duty of Candour. Patients and families have right to be informed about conditions and risks including HAI.

View detailed findings

Duty of Candour requires organisations to inform affected persons, apologise, invite to a meeting and provide an account when a notifiable safety incident occurs.

Scottish Government Duty of Candour policy View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS Health Boards (Scotland) Primary
Themes & Tags
No person-centred care C.difficile Patient Information
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3932 days ago