Hospital chiefs cannot wash their hands of blame

BETWEEN December 2007 and June 2008, there was a serious outbreak of infection from Clostridium difficile bacteria at the Vale of Leven hospital in Dunbartonshire. As a result, 55 patients were infected and 18 subsequently died. This was the worst single outbreak to date of C diff inside NHS hospitals in Scotland, though some 285 deaths have been linked to the infection during the same period as the outbreak at Vale of Leven.

Yesterday, an independent report into the C diff infestation at Vale of Leven concluded what has long been suspected – the scale of the infection and the tragic loss of life were largely the result of poor hospital management. In other words, this ca...