03 June 2009
This week has been dominated by health issues.
I met with representatives of NHS Highland recently and they gave me information on the C diff outbreak at Caithness General Hospital and how they had dealt with it.
This is a terrible infection that only really hits those who are already in poor health.
It is highly infectious, which is why people should be isolated and barrier nursing methods put in place.
Visitors to patients need to be very aware of the action they should take.
The alcohol gels available at the hospital do not kill C diff – people need to wash their hands with soap and water.
This is especially crucial for people visiting more than one person at the hospital.
At parliament we debated swine flu.
The outbreak appears to be limited and those affected have only had mild symptoms – this is apart from the man in Glasgow who had previous complex health problems.
We can only hope that this the extent of the outbreak, but the professionals appear to be concerned that it may return in the autumn or winter and prove to be much worse.
We hope for the best and plan for the worst.
I spoke about the need to make sure that rural areas had adequate resources.
The Government information suggests everyone have flu buddies but this is not always feasible in remote areas where it’s not just a quick jog down the street to pick up medicines and supplies.
Health service workers are also more thinly spread in rural areas and we need to have contingencies in place to make sure that there is adequate cover should they be affected.
This is also the case with frontline workers throughout our services.
Home carers have a crucial role to play, however very little has been said about information and support to them.
I flagged it up as a real issue.
They are often forgotten but provide frontline services to our most vulnerable and need to be valued and protected in that role.
This article first appeared in the John O’Groats Journal and Caithness Courier
