TESTS are being carried out on the water supply of Scotland’s biggest hospital over fears of a bacterial contamination.
If follows the announcement last week that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were taking infection control measures at the Royal Hospital for Children.
Yesterday the board said they were now taking measures in four wards at the neighbouring Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
According to reports in The Herald, those include respiratory wards where patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis are cared for.
The board also confirmed that four children were now being treated for an infection which could be linked to the water supply.
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “We are continuing to investigate the presence of bacteria in the water supply to some wards in the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) with experts from Health Protection Scotland, Health Facilities Scotland and Scottish Water.
“These bacteria can pose a risk to patients whose immunity is compromised, however we have put in place robust infection control measures to protect our patients. We have now extended this testing and infection control measures to four wards treating the most immunity compromised patients in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) to ensure that we take every precaution.
“Three children continue to receive treatments for infections that may be linked to bacteria found in the water supply. Tests are ongoing to confirm if they are indeed linked. A fourth patient has shown symptoms and has been readmitted to the RHC. There are no reports of any patients being infected by bacteria from water in the adult wards.
“A series of infection control measures were introduced to the affected RHC wards at the weekend and water filters are set to be installed. As a result, it is hoped that the full water supply will return to normal within 48 hours after appropriate testing has been carried out”.
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