Cohorting only exceptional
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 cohorting is not used as a substitute for single room isolation and is only resorted to in exceptional circumstances.
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 100% single-room policy for new-build hospitals significantly reduces the need for cohorting as a substitute for isolation. The NIPCM provides guidance that cohorting should only be used when single-room isolation is not available, confirming it should not be the default approach (National Infection Prevention and Control Manual for Scotland (https://www.nipcm.hps.scot.nhs.uk/about-the-manual/)).
- The ongoing programme of hospital building and refurbishment in Scotland, with the single-room requirement, progressively reduces reliance on cohorting across the NHS Scotland estate.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 3.1 of the Scottish Government's response outlines a policy to increase single-room accommodation in hospitals. All planned new-build hospitals are now required to provide 100% single-room accommodation, and refurbished hospital builds must ensure at least 50%. This initiative aims to significantly contribute to reducing patients' risk of contracting and passing on infection, thereby minimizing the need for cohorting.
Scottish Government · 18 Jun 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 11 Jul 2022 · ARHAI Scotland / NIPCM NIPCM provides detailed guidance on isolation and cohorting. Cohorting is restricted to exceptional circumstances when single rooms are unavailable. National standards reinforce single-room isolation as default. 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.