HEALTH SECRETARY Nicola Sturgeon has offered to meet the relative of a patient who died in the recent Clostridium difficile outbreak at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, writes Steve Bargeton, political editor.

Yesterday, The Courier exclusively revealed a catalogue of harrowing complaints made by the relative about the treatment the patient received.

They included: seeing a bin full of soiled pads next to the relative’s bed; a soap container in an affected ward not being refilled for days; and faeces on the floor, in a sink and on the night gowns and slippers of the relative when family members came to visit.

In a debate in parliament yesterday, Labour’s health spokesman Jackie Baillie broke down as she relayed to MSPs the “heartbreaking” experience of the family.

Ms Sturgeon, who also received the letter from the relative of one of the five people who died in the Ninewells C. diff outbreak, has ordered an “urgent investigation” into the complaints.

“When I received the letter, from a relative of a person who died in the Ninewells C. diff outbreak, I immediately asked officials to conduct an urgent investigation with NHS Tayside into the issues raised,” she said.

“I also replied to the relative at once, expressing my condolences and offering to meet her.

“The relative asked me to respect her confidentiality and I am continuing to respect that wish.

“I will keep her fully updated.”

In the debate on C. diff, Ms Baillie said the “most basic lessons” from Scotland’s worst C. diff outbreak at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire had not been learned at Ninewells Hospital.

“This family’s experience is just heartbreaking,” she said.

Ms Sturgeon said that C. diff rates have come down by more than 40% since the SNP took power.

She added, “That’s not good enough but it’s progress that Jackie Baillie should’ve acknowledged more prominently in the speech she made.

“I’m very aware of the anxiety that people have about the risk of infection in hospitals.

“That’s why we must ensure and continue to ensure that all of our healthcare environments have robust processes, policies and procedures in place.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Mary Scanlon told MSPs that her mother died in a hospital in Dundee in 2001.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Ross Finnie said the large number of action plans and strategies to deal with C. diff were causing “stress and confusion” among staff.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said the health authority had investigated the allegations made by the family member.

She insisted that the health board’s staff had dealt with the outbreak in an “exemplary” way.

“It is very misleading to suggest that there was a lack of communication with this family,” she said.

“The consultant and nursing staff on the ward kept this family regularly informed through documented discussions with the designated next of kin.

“The allegations made by another member of this family have been fully investigated and there is no evidence that standards of patient care were in any way compromised.

“Indeed staff on the ward have received a note of gratitude for their treatment and care of this patient from the family.

“We also welcome the praise from all political parties...acknowledging that our staff dealt with this outbreak in an exemplary way.”