More people to take out private medical cover after hospital inspections?

People in Scotland may be interested in taking out private medical cover as an alternative to NHS care following an inspection of the country's hospitals.

According to the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI), which was set up last year to examine hospitals across Scotland to help in the fight against infections such as MRSA, "rapid and sustained improvements" need to be made in the cleaning of hospital equipment.

Although the inspectors found that standards of cleanliness in acute hospitals in Scotland are improving, it highlighted a number of areas that need to be addressed.

Out of the 29 hospital it inspected, the HEI said that there were 12 where practice was poor with regard to staff taking precautions to prevent the spread of infection and 11 hospitals where the policies on the ward were not up to date.

Susan Brimelow, chief inspector of HEI, said: "Overall, we have found most hospitals are generally clean and improving. However, there are still important areas for further improvement.

"In particular, we expect to see rapid and sustained improvements in the coming year that focus on improved cleaning of hospital equipment and ensuring that up-to-date policies are available and being followed on wards."

The news comes as the Department of Health publishes a new report showing the discrepancy in spending between NHS Trusts in different parts of England. 

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