ICM direct responsibility
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 the Infection Control Manager has direct responsibility for the infection prevention control service and its staff.
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 confirmed that the ICM has overall responsibility for coordinating prevention and control of infection throughout the organisation, with direct responsibility for the IPC service and its staff.
- The HAI Standards define the ICM role as having operational management of the Infection Prevention and Control Team, with accountability for service delivery and staff management.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 2.2 of the Scottish Government's response clearly states that the Infection Control Manager (ICM) has overall responsibility for coordinating prevention and control of infection throughout the NHS board area and delivering the board-approved infection prevention and control programme. The ICM is also responsible for establishing clear mechanisms for access to specialist infection prevention and control advice and support. This confirms the ICM's direct responsibility for the infection prevention and control service.
Scottish Government · 18 Jun 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 May 2022 · Healthcare Improvement Scotland HIS IPC Standards (2022) Standard 1 addresses IPC management structure and direct responsibility for IPC services. 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.