NHS reports rising levels of infections in healthcare

Four outbreaks slapped with most serious red level in three months

- KEVIN DYSON

NHS Ayrshire & Arran has recorded rising levels of several key healthcare-associated infections in the first quarter of 2025/26, according to a new report.

The paper highlights the board’s performance against national standards for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), Escherichia coli bacteraemia (e-coli), and Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB), as well as the management of outbreaks across hospitals and community settings.

Under new Scottish Government standards, NHS Ayrshire & Arran should not exceed 70 healthcare-associated CDI cases, 209 e-coli cases, and 87 SAB cases during the current financial year.

In the first quarter alone, the board recorded 25 CDI cases, already accounting for around 36 per cent of the annual maximum permitted.

The rate of 21.7 per 100,000 occupied bed days is significantly higher than the national figure of 13.9 per 100,000.

More than half of these infections were hospital acquired, with cases appearing across nine wards.