A new team of independent inspectors will be given the power to enter any hospital in Scotland to randomly inspect standards of infection prevention, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled.

A four-week consultation is now underway to discuss details of the new inspection plans, such as whether health boards should produce an improvement plan based on inspectorate findings and if there should be follow-up visits by inspectors to check progress has been made.

As part of tough measures to tackle healthcare-associated infections, the Scottish Government has also announced plans to provide more single rooms in newly built and refurbished hospitals, with at least 50 per cent of rooms being single occupant.

The Health Secretary has today written to health boards across Scotland advising them to ensure most patients are treated in single rooms, suggesting: "This will greatly increase the number of single rooms in Scottish hospitals which is a great step forward in both infection control and patient dignity."

As for the announcement on inspectors, Sturgeon commented: "The launch of the inspectorate demonstrates my commitment to tackling the serious problem of healthcare-associated infection.

"I want to assure the public and further boost their confidence in the NHS by ensuring robust processes are in place to prevent avoidable infections. I will hold boards accountable to maintain the highest possible infection prevention and control standards at all times."

 "It's vital that the public have confidence in the quality of care and treatment they receive in Scottish hospitals. That is why we are absolutely committed to tackling the problem of avoidable infections in our hospitals."

Her comments come as a new independent audit report on boards' compliance with the National Cleaning Services Specification and Monitoring Framework, commissioned by Health Facilities Scotland, suggested improvements could still be made in standards of hospital cleanliness.

One recommendation the report makes is that independent audits be carried out, something the Scottish Government has said its new team of inspectors will carry out.

Latest Health Protection Scotland figures show that from April to June C.difficile cases dropped by seven per cent to 1,732, while during the same period MRSA cases fell six per cent to 185.