C.difficile

Health Boards should ensure that patients diagnosed with CDI are given information by medical and nursing staff about their condition and prognosis.

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.

Health Boards should ensure that nursing staff caring for a patient with CDI keep accurate records of patient observations including temperature, pulse, respiration.

Health Boards should ensure that where a patient has, or is suspected of having, C.difficile diarrhoea a proper record of the patient's stools is kept.

Health Boards should ensure that any patient with suspected CDI receives full clinical assessment by senior medical staff, that specific antibiotic therapy for CDI is commenced timeously.

Health Boards should ensure that there is no unnecessary delay in processing laboratory specimens, in reporting positive results and in commencing specific antibiotic treatment.

Health Boards should ensure that numbers and rates of CDI are reported through each level of the organisation up to the Chief Executive and the Board.

Health Boards should ensure that there is effective isolation of any patient who is suspected of suffering from CDI, and that failure to isolate is reported to senior management.

Health boards should ensure that if a patient dies with CDI either as a cause of death or as a condition contributing to the death, relatives are provided with a …

Scottish Government should identify a national agency to undertake routine national monitoring of deaths related to CDI.