Stool records for CDI patients
Vale of Leven Inquiry · The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · Issued 24 November 2014 · Addressed to: NHS Health Boards (Scotland)
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Health Boards should ensure that where a patient has, or is suspected of having, C.difficile diarrhoea a proper record of the patient's stools is kept.
Vale of Leven Inquiry, The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · 24 Nov 2014 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Scottish Government's response detailed professional standards for record-keeping, with the revised NMC Code (effective March 2015) requiring nurses and midwives to maintain clear, accurate, and contemporaneous patient records.
- The requirement that a proper stool record is kept for patients with suspected CDI is embedded in the NMC Code's standards on record-keeping, which apply to all registered nurses and midwives practising in Scotland. The GMC's Good Medical Practice sets equivalent standards for doctors.
- The Health and Social Care Standards (published June 2017) include Standard 3: 'I have confidence in the people who support and care for me,' which encompasses professional standards including accurate record-keeping (Health and Social Care Standards (https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-social-care-standards-support-life/)).
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland assesses record-keeping quality as part of its inspection programme, and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme promotes standardised documentation practices including safety briefs and structured handovers.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 4.2 of the Scottish Government's response outlines the professional standards for record-keeping for nurses. The revised NMC code requires nurses and midwives to complete all records accurately and without any falsification, and to identify any risks or problems and the steps taken to deal with them. This ensures that a proper record of a patient's stools is kept when C. difficile diarrhoea is present or suspected.
Scottish Government · 18 Jun 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Jan 2025 · Healthcare Improvement Scotland NIPCM includes specific guidance on CDI patient management including stool monitoring. Excellence in Care framework monitors fundamentals of care documentation standards. View source → Good Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.