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In an effort to improve hygiene standards in Scottish hospitals all patients would be screened for the MRSA superbug, Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

This came following the publication of a report by an expert group that was looking at ways to reduce infection rates in the health services.  According to the experts, patients should be screened on or prior to admissions using a clinical risk assessment approach to identify risk. Where a patient is identified as being at risk, they will have swabs taken for further laboratory testing.

Patients in five high risk specialties - renal, cardiothoracic, vascular, intensive care and orthopaedics - will be routinely tested using swabbing.

The Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has accepted the group's recommendations and the programme would be rolled out across NHS Scotland. Health Protection Scotland will work with health boards to develop an operating protocol and co-ordinate roll-out of the national policy approach. The new screening arrangements will be introduced in 2012.

"I've made tackling healthcare associated infections - such as MRSA - a priority and we've put in place a range of measures which are driving infection rates down," she said as she announced her decision. She argued that the advice provided was "based on results from a world leading scientific based study in Scotland completed over the past two years."

"Importantly, this approach will help to further ensure those potentially at risk from MRSA infection are either treated prior to admission or cared for in appropriate isolation facilities, whilst laboratory results are awaited, to prevent the risk of infection spreading."