A RAIGMORE Hospital surgical ward will be closed until Wednesday October 3 2012 for specialist cleaning to tackle the Clostridium difficile (C diff) bug.
The Inverness hospital Ward 4C has been closed since Monday afternoon,October 1, to allow cleaning teams to treat walls and floors with hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV).
Hospital bosses decided to use the highly toxic chemical after routine cleaning measures failed to cut infection rates.
A cancer ward was closed to new admissions and Ward 4C deep cleaned two weeks ago after three cases of C diff were reported.
The bug causes severe diarrhoea in patients whose normal gut bacteria have been wiped out by antibiotics.
HPV is very effective in decontaminating surfaces of potentially harmful organisms.
Dr Emma Watson,consultant microbiologist and lead infection control doctor for NHS Highland,said: ‘Despite the best efforts of our staff we are still seeing cases of hospital associated infection so we have been looking at new and additional measures. Using the vapour is not a substitute for other actions. Current existing measures will all still be maintained.’
For more news from the West Highlands and islands see The Oban Times every Thursday,also available on line at www.obantimes.co.uk/digital
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