New infection risk alert at Glasgow's flagship hospital

A ward at Glasgow's flagship hospital ward has been partially closed following a new infection risk alert.

Some rooms on the adult bone marrow unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) have been sealed and extra infection control measures introduced.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) declined to confirm a Sky News report that the alarm was raised after the discovery of "mould and dirty water ingress".

The campus has been the focus of a public inquiry looking at whether problems with the hospital environment including water and ventilation systems were to blame for infections and patient deaths.

The latest concerns centre on Ward 4B, a 24-bed bone marrow transplant unit for adult patients, which provides a national service for some procedures.

NHSGGC said additional appropriate infection control measures have been taken to mitigate any potential risks to patients.

The board would not say how many patients were affected.

The QEUH, which opened in 2015, has been at the centre of a long-running controversy over claims that bacterial and fungal infections were linked to the hospital environment, particularly the water and ventilation systems.

Those concerns prompted a public inquiry, announced in 2019, which has been gathering evidence and is now considering its findings.

In a closing submission earlier this year, the health board for the first time conceded that some infections in a child cancer unit were on the balance of probabilities linked to defects in the water supply system.

Last month the health board insisted its flagship campus was now safe after families wrote to the first minister raising ongoing concerns.

Health Secretary Neil Gray also announced the creation of a new independent oversight group to boost public confidence in the safety of the QEUH.

A NHSGGC spokesperson said: "Safety is actively managed every day and we continue to monitor performance including the use of approved equipment to ensure wards remain safe for our patients.

"This includes thorough testing of the water and ventilation to provide additional safety assurance, particularly for our vulnerable patients.

"A number of rooms on ward 4B are closed at the moment and are being managed in line with agreed recognised processes."

They added this was a standard approach involving experts, including Infection Control.

The statement concluded: "These rooms do not have patients in them and actions have been implemented including sealing the rooms off as a precaution, with additional appropriate infection control measures taken to mitigate any potential risks to patients.

"We are in communication with patients to ensure they are fully kept up to date."

Separate from the public inquiry, Scotland's independent prosecution and deaths investigation service is examining seven deaths for potential links to the hospital environment at the QEUH hospital campus.

The case of Molly Cuddihy, who died last August, has been passed to a specialist hospitals teams in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which is also looking at the deaths of Andrew Slorance and Tony Dynes.

In four earlier cases, including that of Milly Main, 10, a police report has been received and COPFS is considering whether to begin corporate homicide prosecutions.