Reports of 10 more water contamination cases at QEUH
Labour MSP, Anas Sarwar, says an NHS whistleblower has claimed a clinician-led probe uncovered the incidents.
Last updated 24th Nov 2019
It's being reported a further 10 cases, linked to the water contamination crisis at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, have been uncovered from as far back as 2016.
MSP, Anas Sarwar, says an NHS whistleblower has claimed a clinician-led probe uncovered the incidents.
They are on top of the 26 incidents revealed in 2017 by the same review, including the death of Milly Main, and on top of 23 cases in 2018 reported by Health Protection Scotland - all in paediatric cancer.
The news comes amid a Sunday Post story that the Health and Safety Executive listed problems with the way staff were trained and equipped to deal with highly contagious diseases, in November 2018.
A report in the Scottish Mail on Sunday also tells how an investigation has been launched after a third child was left fighting for their life after an infection linked to the water contamination crisis.
The latest case, which was said to have happened in September, comes after the deaths of two children in 2017.
All three were patients in a ward that was later found to have been affected by water contamination.
It comes after the Scottish Government placed health board was placed into special measures on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said:
“The Health Secretary has made clear that she has instructed officials to urgently seek full details of the 2017 review carried out by NHS Greater Glasgow and to establish exactly what action the board took in response.
“The Health Secretary is fully committed to ensuring that every family receives the answers they are entitled to and hopes to be able to meet the whistleblower personally.
"The Health Secretary has twice asked Mr Sarwar to pass on all the information he has received, so that she can investigate the matter fully. Any further information supplied in confidence will of course be treated by the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency.
“In addition, ongoing issues relating to infection prevention, management and control at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children have resulted in the health board being escalated to stage 4 of the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework to ensure appropriate governance is in place to increase public confidence and strengthen current approaches to mitigate avoidable harms."
The Scottish Government announced on Friday the escalation of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) to stage four of the NHS Board Performance Framework.
In Scotland, a five-stage scale is used to show the level of oversight for stricken health boards.
Mr Sarwar said: ''These latest revelations from an NHS whistleblower show that problems at this hospital have been going on for years.
It's clear that action should have been taken much earlier by senior managers to prevent the tragedy which unfolded.
Doctors responded to concerns about the circumstances of Milly's death by starting the formal whistleblowing process in September 2017.
Dedicated staff repeatedly raised issues about the water supply with senior management, but they weren't listened to.''
Jane Grant, Chief Executive said:
"We completely understand this has been a distressing time for families and staff. Unfortunately there will always be a small number of patients who develop infections because of the seriousness of their illness and we are fully committed to supporting them and their families at this difficult time.
"There are clearly lessons for us to learn in how we communicate with families during these periods. We welcome the opportunity to work with parents and Professor Craig White, who has been appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, to consider how we can improve our information flow."
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