The Scottish Government

MRSA and Clostridium difficile Cases

carries out national surveillance of two infections which are of major public concern. Reports on the number of cases and rates of MRSA and Clostridium difficile are published quarterly.

MRSA monitoring is carried out as part of HPS's Staphylococcus aureus Bacteraemias (SAB) surveillance. MRSA's full name is 'Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus'; the SAB surveillance also covers 'Meticillin Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus', or MSSA, which is related to MRSA but is easier to treat.

Clostridium difficile cases are monitored through the Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) surveillance programme.

These results are published four times a year and cover the whole of Scotland, broken down by Health Board. The latest figures available are for the period October 2007-September 2008.

MRSA and Clostridium difficile Deaths

The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) publishes information on the number of deaths in which clostridium difficile and MRSA have been involved. These cover the number of death certificates in which MRSA or clostridium difficile was mentioned as either a contributing on underlying cause of death.

Hospital Cleaning

Health Facilities Scotland (HFS) are responsible for overseeing Health Boards compliance against cleaning standards. These are published quarterly in the NHSScotland National Cleaning Services Specification Quarterly Compliance Reports.

Hand Hygiene

Health Protection Scotland publish the National Hand Hygiene NHS Campaign Compliance with Hand Hygiene reports. Up until January 2009 these were published on a quarterly basis; from May 2009 these are published bi-monthly.