Commenting on the Government’s announcement that it is to roll out a national MRSA screening programme, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Ross Finnie MSP said:

“Although progress on tackling hospital infections is welcome, the Health Secretary needs to explain why she’s ignoring the experts’ concerns about a national MRSA screening programme.

“The interim report from Health Protection Scotland warns that more time is needed before experts can be sure that a national screening programme is clinically effective.

“The report identifies worrying practical problems that need to be sorted out before the programme is rolled out. Specifically, it flagged up the lack of isolation facilities, which led to only 22 per cent of patients requiring isolation during the pilot actually being isolated. It also found that less than half of the patients identified as carrying MRSA went on to undergo a full course of treatment or ‘decolonisation’.

“The Health Secretary needs to explain why she is so confident that a national screening programme is the right course of action right now, or risk accusations that she jumped the gun for a quick headline.”

Ends.