Minister announces C-diff inquiry
Thursday, 16 October 2008
HEALTH Minister Michael McGimpsey, is set to hold a public inquiry into the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Clostridium difficile outbreak.
In an announcement to the Assembly yesterday (Tuesday, October 14), Mr McGimpsey, said having received the final report from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), a number of questions still remained unanswered.
“It is clear from both this final report and the RQIA's interim report, published in June, that infection prevention and control were high on trusts' agendas and that Clostridium difficile was taken seriously as an issue across Northern Ireland, he added."
He said: "There are some 17 recommendations in the review and we will now get on with the work of implementing them. However, two important issues remain unanswered; firstly, how many people died as a result of the outbreak and secondly, what were the experiences of patients and others who were directly affected by the outbreak?
“I want to restore public confidence in the safety and quality of healthcare. That is why I have decided to hold a public inquiry that will examine these questions. I will advise the Assembly in due course of the Terms of Reference and the membership of the inquiry team."
Turning to the report's findings on infection control practices the Minister said the Northern Trust appeared to be as well prepared as any other trust in Northern Ireland to deal with an outbreak.
He added: "However, the review also found that the trust did not have good systems in place to ensure that policies adopted by the trust board were being implemented and observed at ward level. For example, an antibiotic policy was in place but there were problems with adherence to it.
“The report also points to issues with infection control systems and cleaning arrangements in the Northern Trust, significant level of patient transfers between hospitals and shortfalls in nursing and cleaning staff in the parts of the trust.
“Once the outbreak was declared the Chief Executive immediately took personal control. An Outbreak Control Team was convened which the review team found helped to speed up decision-making."
Practical and financial support to the trust was provided by the Northern Health and Social Services Board to manage the incidents, and officials in the department provided support to the trust when the outbreak was declared.
The NHS Cleaner Hospitals Team also helped to support the trust and the outbreak was declared over in August.
Mr McGimpsey said: "I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff in the Northern Trust who worked extremely hard over a long difficult period to bring this outbreak under control.
“The RQIA review team have identified a number of valuable lessons which can be applied not only in Northern Ireland but further afield. Our clear duty is to act on these lessons, to do that across Northern Ireland, and to do it without delay."
The Northern Health and Social Care Trust are set to hold a press conference today and are unable to issue a statement.
