A SURGE in the number of deaths linked to the Clostridium difficile superbug has sparked calls for a public inquiry.

Statistics from the General Register Office for Scotland showed the infection was either the underlying cause of death or a contributory factor in 597 cases, as reported in later editions of last night's Evening Times.

Of those there were 220 cases where C.diff was recorded as being the underlying cause of death.

The figures also showed the number of fatalities involving the infection has almost doubled in two years.

The 2007 total of 597 compares to 313 cases in 2005 where the infection was either the underlying cause of death or a contributory factor.

Of the 2005 cases there were 102 where C.diff was the underlying cause of death.

And in 2006 there were 417 cases where C.diff was either the underlying cause of death or a contributory factor, with 164 occasions when it was the underlying cause of death.

The statistics for 2007 also showed there were 180 cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area where C.diff was either the underlying factor or a contributory factor in someone's death.

One of the worst outbreaks was at Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, where 55 people were affected by the bug.

Health secretary Nicola Surgeon said the government did not underestimate the scale of the problem.

"Patients and their relatives must have confidence in the safety of care they receive in our hospitals," she said.

LibDem health spokesman Ross Finnie renewed his calls for a public inquiry.

"These figures make the case for a full public inquiry into C.diff unanswerable," he said.

Wednesday 17th September 2008

Reproduced with the permission of The Evening Times, Glasgow © 2008 Herald & Times Group