R65 Response Accepted

Isolation for infectious diarrhoea

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that appropriate steps are taken to isolate patients with potentially infectious diarrhoea.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The Scottish Government's 2015 response highlighted Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs), which include patient placement for isolation, and a policy for increasing single-room accommodation in hospitals. ARHAI Scotland / NIPCM provides comprehensive and continuously updated guidance, last noted in July 2022, on isolating patients with potentially infectious diarrhoea, detailing both SICPs and transmission-based precautions.
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 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 applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 2.1 of the Scottish Government's response details the Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs), which are basic measures to reduce the risk of germ transmission. Among the 10 SICPs is "Patient placement in wards and bays," which directly addresses isolation. Furthermore, Section 3.1 notes that new-build hospitals are required to provide 100% single-room accommodation, and refurbished hospitals at least 50%, to reduce infection transmission risks.

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Published Evidence

Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Good Progress
11 Jul 2022
ARHAI Scotland / NIPCM Other

NIPCM provides comprehensive guidance on isolation of patients with potentially infectious diarrhoea. Standard infection control precautions and transmission-based precautions detailed in the manual.

View detailed findings

NIPCM is continuously updated and provides the evidence base for isolation decisions across NHS Scotland.

National Infection Prevention and Control Manual … 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
Care home infection control Delayed patient infection risk notification Isolation Infection Control
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3933 days ago