Bug death family's call for action

Sarah McGinty was treated at the Vale of Leven hospital

A family affected by the Clostridium difficile outbreak at the Vale of Leven hospital is calling for action to prevent any repeat.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has already announced that an independent review into the outbreak will take place and report by the end of July.

Scottish hospitals are also reviewing their death rates from the bug.

C.diff killed eight people and contributed to the deaths of a further nine in the Dunbartonshire hospital.

Michelle Stewart's mother-in-law, Sarah McGinty, 67, died recently.

She contracted C.diff at the Dunbartonshire hospital earlier this year.

'Deserve to know'

Speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mrs Stewart said that more action was needed to prevent a repeat of the situation in future.

"We didn't know anything about C.diff before this. One of the aspects of the bug is diarrhoea, we were getting Sarah's clothes home covered with it yet we weren't told any procedures on how best to wash them.

"We later learned that we should have washed them out with gloves on, putting them in the machine separately - basic things that we just weren't aware of. We were just handed a bag and that was it."

She added: "I think we definitely need a public inquiry. The public have to find out about this.

"We deserve to know, and other families deserve to know, so that they are never put in the position that we have been."

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