Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSElderly C diff infection rate at record low
Rates of C difficile among elderly hospital patients are at their lowest ever level, figures have revealed.
Statistics covering the first three months of this year also showed MRSA rates were the second lowest since monitoring began in 2003.
The number of cases of both infections in hospitals across Scotland has been falling, with 117 cases of MRSA in January to March and a total of 835 cases of C diff.
The number of MRSA cases in the first quarter of this year is 31% lower than the same period in 2009.
Between January and March there were 641 cases of C diff among the over-65s, 4.6% lower than the previous quarter and 44% less than 12 months ago.
There were 194 cases of the bug in 15 to 64-year-olds, a drop of 17% on the previous three months.
The Scottish government has introduced a number of measures to tackle hospital infections, with money to tackle these being tripled to more than £50 million over three years.
Funding of £5 million was provided for additional cleaning staff, while independent, unannounced inspections from the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate have also been brought in.
The role of the senior charge nurse has been revamped, giving them responsibility for ensuring cleanliness
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