INSPECTORS sent into Scotland’s flagship hospital after the deaths of two patients have raised concerns about cleanliness and infection prevention.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman ordered the inspection at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow after the pair contracted an infection linked to pigeon droppings.
A 10-year-old boy died in December and a 73-year-old woman who had been infected with the bug died at the same hospital in January. The Crown Office is investigating both deaths at the £842 million NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) hospital.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland published its inspection report yesterday. Director of quality assurance Alastair Delaney said: “Inspectors found areas of good practice in relation to infection control.
“However, there were also areas of concern, such as developing a strategy to ensure the hospital environment and patient equipment in the emergency department is clean and ready for use, and that any estates and facilities issues around repairs and maintenance are carried out to ensure infection prevention and control can be maintained. Following our inspection, NHSGGC has developed an action plan and must address the areas which require improvement as a matter of priority.”
Inspectors were given examples of where it was felt senior management had not reacted to staff concerns about the environment. “Significant gaps” in maintenance and improvement were also found.
The team reviewed 27 wards in the main building, the Royal Hospital for Children and the Institute of Neurological Sciences. Its report will help inform the Scottish Government’s wider independent review into QEUH.
NHSGGC chief executive Jane Grant, said: “Patients should be assured that the prevention and control of infection has always been, and remains, a top priority. Infection rates in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children are low – lower than the average in Scotland’s hospitals.
“For further reassurance on infection control we asked Health Protection Scotland to carry out a detailed review of our infection performance compared to similar large hospitals over the past three years. Its findings confirmed that at no time during this period did infection rates at QEUH and RHC exceed expected levels.”
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