A patient was moved unnecessarily to last on the theatre list on the day of his operation because he had previously had the MRSA bug, the Scottish public services ombudsman has ruled.
The man, who has not been identified, was distressed and claimed he had told staff on the morning of his surgery that he had been given the all-clear a few years before.
MRSA is resistant to common antibiotics and can cause infection and be difficult to treat.
However, NHS Tayside admitted there was no requirement to screen day surgery patients for the bacteria.
Nor did infection control procedures require MRSA-positive patients to be last on the theatre list, as measures were in place to deal with the risk of cross infection.
The board said a consultant had placed the man last as there was nothing in his records to indicate he was infection-free.
“Their response to (the patient’s) complaint had been contradictory, in failing to explain why the consultant had not adhered to their policy,” the ombudsman said.
Recommendations were made to apologise to the patient, remind staff dealing with complaints of the need to provide a clear and consistent response, and highlight the importance to sticking to infection control policies.