Two further child deaths at QEUH not linked to hospital-acquired infections, say health board
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has disputed newspaper allegations about the deaths of two further patients at the Royal Hospital for Children saying they were not linked to infections acquired at the hospital.
The health board say an investigation found that one child who died had acquired an infection in the community, while in a second case the infection was not related to the cause of death.
Both were being treated in the hospitals paediatric intensive care unit.
A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Our sympathies go to the families who have been affected by the heartbreak of losing a child and we are absolutely committed to supporting families who have faced such a tragedy.
"As part of our infection control governance processes we update the board on our performance against healthcare associated infection standards.''
The spokeswoman added that an incident management team had examined the cases and "the team determined that one infection was community acquired and that the cause of death in the second case was unrelated to the infection''.
The allegations came after it was reported a young patient died in the unit after contracting "hospital acquired Serratia marcescens", a bacterial infection.
NHS board papers say post mortem results are pending in this case and therefore it's not known whether the Serratia contributed to this patient’s death.
The Health Secretary has insited that a review that prompted NHS chiefs to take legal action against the contractors who built Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital complex must be published as soon as possible.
Jeane Freeman said she had instructed NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to consider if the documents could be published in part.
She spoke out after the health board confirmed it was starting court proceedings against construction firm Brookfield Multiplex amid infection concerns.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was escalated to stage four of the NHS Board Performance Framework by Ms Freeman last month - the second highest level of Scottish Government intervention - following its response to an infection scandal.
Concerns about the water supply at the hospital were raised after it emerged 10-year-old cancer patient Milly Main died after contracting an infection in August 2017.
Last week health board chief executive Jane Grant revealed lawyers had been instructed to prepare legal action against contractor Brookfield Multiplex "as a matter of urgency''.
As a result of that she said the findings of a review to address building concerns could not be published yet - but would be made public when possible.
Ms Freeman told The Herald newspaper she had asked the board "to clarify when their lawyers think they could publish the report, and whether or not their lawyers think they could publish the report in part''.
And she stated: "My very clear view is that you need to publish it as soon as you can.''
Ms Freeman previously announced a public inquiry will take place to examine issues at the hospital site and the delayed Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
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