The decision to call an outbreak relates to five of the cases which are currently confined to two wards. There is no evidence to link the cases in the different wards. There are currently four people still in Raigmore hospital affected, all of whom have been assessed as having a mild infection. It is anticipated that they will recover from the infection over the next few days.
Clostridium difficile is a bacterium which particularly affects patients on strong antibiotics. It is spread in the faeces through bacteria and by spores which allow the bacteria to survive in the environment. It is a serious problem for hospitals because many patients are on antibiotics and are also already sick which makes them susceptible.
Commenting on the situation Dr Rod Harvey, Associate Medical Director for Raigmore Hospital said: “We are obviously very disappointed that there has been an increase in cases. The situation is being closely monitored and is under control. The routine monitoring we have in place means we have been able to react quickly and take decisive action to contain the outbreak at an early stage. When controlling Clostridium difficile there is no single solution but measures being taken include:
Closure of an affected ward (4c) to eliminate the risk of cross infection to newly admitted patients and to allow specialist cleaning to happen
Isolation of symptomatic patients
Increased frequency of routine cleaning
Ongoing intensive surveillance across the hospital
Limiting the use of broad spectrum antibiotics
Scrupulous compliance with hand-hygiene by staff and visitors to reduce the risk of spread in the hospital environment
Heightened awareness of control measures among staff, patients and visitors
Dr Harvey said: “The risks to healthy patients, visitors and staff is minimal. The actions we are taking are largely to reduce the risk of the infection spreading within the ward environment. Staff will be contacting relatives of patients in the affected areas to advise them of the situation and to discuss visiting arrangements.
“As a further precaution we have also decided to cancel a small number of patients who require non urgent surgery.”
NHS Highland has advised that any member of the public who has recently been an inpatient in Raigmore Hospital and is concerned about symptoms of diahorrea should contact NHS24 or their GP in the first instance.
Ends
Notes to editors:
Of the five cases in the outbreak four patients are still in Raigmore hospital and one patient has been discharged.
Of the two other cases reported in January one has been discharged. The other patient was admitted as an emergency and was seriously ill and died shortly after they were admitted from an existing medical condition. They were found to be colonised with Clostridium difficile from the community. This means they already had Clostridium difficile and therefore this was not related to their hospital care.
