ICM reports to CEO
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 reports direct to the Chief Executive or, at least, to an executive board member.
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 explicitly stated that the ICM is accountable directly to the chief executive and the board. The HAI Standards require this direct reporting line, ensuring IPC concerns reach the highest level of governance without being filtered through intermediate management.
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland monitors whether this direct reporting line is in place through its inspection programme.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 2.2 of the Scottish Government's response explicitly states that the Infection Control Manager (ICM) is accountable directly to the chief executive and the board. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has been working with partners since 2014/15 to reinforce the stipulation that infection control managers have direct lines of communication and accountability to the board. This ensures a clear and direct reporting structure for the ICM.
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 (Leadership and Governance) addresses reporting structures for IPC within health boards including requirements for board-level oversight. View source → Good Progress
- 1 Mar 2021 · Scottish Government Oversight Board QEUH Oversight Board found that within NHS GGC key IPC information was not escalated to senior management and the Board. DMA Canyon water reports were not escalated to relevant staff and senior managers despite Vale of Leven recommendation that ICM should report directly to CEO. View source → limited_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.