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We are always willing to learn from other countries, and the Scottish Government has done so for many years. Our key stakeholders on the HAI Task Force are in regular contact with their counterparts around the world “ including the Department of Health “ so both they and we can learn from each other on the most effective approaches that are being taken towards tackling Clostridium difficile and other Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs). It is also the case that both the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorate and the Scottish Infection Research Network (SIRN) at Glasgow University encourage and support innovative research and projects into HAI to ensure that our approach continues to evolve.

NHS boards are accountable for the quality and safety of the NHS services they provide including those provided in hospitals. A range of scrutiny and performance management arrangements are in place including annual reviews by Scottish ministers held in public.

The future of scrutiny arrangements in the public sector, including the NHS, is being considered as part of the Scottish Government''s response to the Report of the Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland (The Crerar Review).

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) does not undertake unannounced visits of hospitals to check standards. NHS QIS reviews the performance of NHS boards against its standards in accordance with its planned work programme. Further information regarding the work of NHS QIS is available from their website www.nhshealthquality.org.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14683 on 21 July 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

NHS boards are accountable for the quality and safety of the NHS services they provide including those provided in hospitals. A range of scrutiny and performance management arrangements are in place including annual reviews by Scottish ministers held in public.

The future of scrutiny arrangements in the public sector, including the NHS, is being considered as part of the Scottish Government''s response to the Report of the Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland (The Crerar Review).

Health Protection Scotland is part of National Services Scotland, and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is a special health board. National Services Scotland and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland are accountable to Scottish ministers who hold annual reviews in public.

The principal measurements of the levels of healthcare associated infection (HAI) in Scotland have been the long-standing national mandatory and voluntary HAI surveillance schemes, most recently mandated by HDL(2006)38 and the National HAI Point Prevalence Survey carried out by Health Protection Scotland. The mandatory elements of surveillance currently include MRSA bacteraemias, Clostridium difficile and selected surgical site infections. I am pleased to note that MRSA bacteraemias in Scotland have shown a significant decrease since April 2006, and that orthopaedic surgery (hip and knee replacement) and caesarean section infection rates have also declined “ see http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/hai/sshaip/publications/ssi/ssi-2007.pdf.

On 11 July 2007, I announced the publication of the Scottish Point Prevalence Survey which, for the first time, provides us with a comprehensive picture of the rate of HAI in every acute Scottish hospital and in a representative sample of community hospitals. The publication of the survey led to the preparation of a three year HAI Task Force Delivery Plan, which came into affect on 1 April 2008. The Delivery Plan is being backed with £54 million of Scottish Government funding over the next three years and a second Point Prevalence Survey is scheduled for 2011. The delivery plan is available from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/07110818/0.

Mandatory reporting on compliance with hand hygiene and cleaning performance are regularly monitored and reviewed by the HAI Task Force so they remain fit for purpose. I am pleased to note that both these schemes have shown substantial improvements in hand hygiene and cleaning since their implementation, and these are both key areas in the prevention of Clostridium difficile as well as other HAIs.

Another key document relevant to Clostridium difficile is the Scottish Management of Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan (ScotMARAP), which I launched in March. ScotMARAP outlines the national programme for Scotland in tackling antimicrobial resistance and prudent prescribing over the next five years. The expert Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG) has been established to take this forward, and is now starting a programme of work which all the evidence suggests will have a significant effect in prevention of Clostridium difficile infections.

The HAI Task Force has also commissioned extensive staff training resources from NHS Education for Scotland, notably the Cleanliness Champions programme. This programme continues to expand, and has been used in postgraduate and undergraduate training for health professionals here and in other UK countries. In addition, the recently revised NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) HAI Standards is a key document against which all NHS boards are assessed, both in terms of their organisational structures and practical compliance with HAI policies.

In relation to Clostridium difficile specifically, I refer the member to the announcement I made on 7 August about the publication of both our new National HAI Action Plan and the HAI Action Plan specific to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Both Action Plans are available from the HAI Task Force website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/19529/2005/actionplans.

These additional plans will be fully integrated into our existing national HAI Task Force programme.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have been given a formula capital allocation of £97.417 million in 2008-09 and notified of indicative capital allocations of £98.92 million and £100.423 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively. Future years capital allocations will be determined by the outcome of the next Spending Review.

Yes.

I am advised by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland that it''s predecessor body, the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, visited NHS Argyll and Clyde in 2004-05 as part of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) standards peer review programme. The methodology used at that time meant that the board carried out a local self-assessment at board level rather than individual hospital site level. The external peer review team then assessed performance by considering the board''s self-assessment data and visited the board to validate and discuss the data provided.

Revised and updated HAI standards were published in March 2008 and NHS boards are now carrying out local self assessments against them.