Health board accepts probable link between infections and hospital water system

A health board has accepted that there was probably a “causal connection” between infections suffered by patients and the water system at a flagship hospital.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has been examining the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children, which are on the same campus.

It was launched in the wake of deaths linked to infections, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main.

In closing submissions to the inquiry published ahead of final oral hearings, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it has been “broadly acknowledged that there is no definite link between infections and the water system.”

However it said that it accepts that it is “more likely than not that a material proportion of the additional environmentally relevant blood stream infections (BSI) in the paediatric haemato-oncology population between 2016 and 2018 had a connection to the state of the hospital water system”.

It said that, as previously stated, the rate of infection steadily decreased after remedial measures were started, including those pertaining to the water system, in 2018.

It said: “NHSGGC accepts that, on the balance of probabilities, there is a causal connection between some infections suffered by patients and the hospital environment, in particular the water system.”

It added: “NHSGGC departs from its earlier submissions in this regard, having heard all expert evidence.”

When asked about the closing submissions, an NHSGGC spokesperson said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the inquiry in its investigations.”

Milly Main died in 2017 after contracting an infection at the Royal Hospital for Children’s cancer ward on the campus of the QEUH in Glasgow.

The inquiry will begin to hear final oral submissions next week starting on January 20.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We established a statutory public inquiry so that families could get answers to their questions, and so that lessons can be learned for future hospital projects.

“As an independent core participant of the Inquiry, the Scottish Government is committed to assisting the Inquiry and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”