Exclusive:SNP 'ignored vital warnings' at QEUH after infection alert over ceiling leak sent year earlier than claimed
Documents reveal the Scottish Government was told about infections in Glasgow’s children’s cancer ward in March 2017.
The SNP government was told about infections caught by child cancer patients caused by a leaky and mouldy ceiling linked to the building of the new flagship hospital in March 2017, 12 months before ministers have insisted they were aware of wider “issues”.
The Scottish Government has maintained that they were only made aware of “issues” relating to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), both on the same site in Glasgow, in March 2018.
But documents handed over to the inquiry probing the fatal infections at the hospital, have revealed a red Hospital Infection Incident Assessment Tool (HIIAT) alert was sent to the Scottish Government in March 2017, with an infection outbreak caused by water damage and potentially impacting the ventilation system.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claimed to The Scotsman the revelation shows the Scottish Government has “lied again” about when they knew about the situation at the hospital, adding that ”vital warnings about infection were ignored”.
Despite Health Secretary Neil Gray and First Minister John Swinney stating the Scottish Government was only notified in March 2018 about “issues” at the QEUH, evidence submitted to the inquiry by then health secretary Shona Robison, seen by The Scotsman, shows the SNP government was informed 12 months earlier.
The Scottish Government insisted last night it was “only made aware of a water contamination issue at the QEUH in March 2018”, and the individual incidents before then did not point to a wider problem.
Documents show there was an “increased bacteraemia rate” from July 2016 to February 2017 “amongst paediatric haematology patients” with a “gradual upward trend since July 2016” involving “multiple organisms”.
Ms Robison, in a witness statement submitted to the inquiry, included in a “bundle” of evidence, states that “the first report received by the Scottish Government relevant to the questions posed by the inquiry was received in March 2017”.
The senior SNP minister added that the report “concerned the presence of Aspergillus on Ward 2A of the RHC."
Documents handed over to the inquiry reveal three cases of “invasive Aspergillus”, the same bug that went on to kill former Scottish Government civil servant Andrew Slorance at the QEUH in December 2020.
The March 2017 outbreak triggered a red HIIAT alert to the Scottish Government before being downgraded to amber and then green once building works were carried out in April 2017.
Documents show that all three patients had their chemotherapy postponed while one “spent a lengthy period” in intensive care and another required a lobectomy - surgery to remove part of their lung.
Health bosses undertook a “review of construction and demolition works on and around the site” as well as an investigation “for water leaks/estates work which may have exposed patients”.
An investigation found “mouldy ceiling tiles" and an “inspection of the full ceiling void then followed and necessary repairs carried out”.
There was also an “inspection of cooling beams which were reported to leak periodically” that took place. Cooling beams form an integral part of ventilation systems.
Ms Sarwar said: "For years SNP ministers have refused to answer basic questions about what they knew about infections and when.
“We now know why, because they covered up infections which killed patients.”
The Scottish Labour leader added: “This rotten culture of cover ups and secrecy at the heart of the SNP government has to end.
“It is clear the government will not tell the truth, the inquiry must examine political decision making and the role of ministers in the cover up.
“John Swinney must finally come clean so the families of those who died at the QEUH can get the truth about what happened and why."
Reports have suggested that the Scottish Government was told as far back as October 2015 about infections at the hospital - including a Serratia marcescens outbreak, which affected 13 babies in the paediatric intensive care unit, which was made public by the health board at the time.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The evidence before the inquiry clearly shows that the Scottish Government was only made aware of a water contamination issue at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in March 2018.
"From the individual incidents reported through the Hospital Infection Incident Assessment Tool (HIIAT) in 2017, there was nothing that pointed to wider problems in the QEUH.”
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