THERE was a spike in infections at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow around the time of a 10-year-old girl’s death, according to a report.

The document, published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), was produced following Milly Main’s death after she contracted an infection as she received leukaemia treatment at the site, which is shared with the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

After undergoing a successful stem cell transplant in July 2017, Main was making a recovery, but the following month her Hickman line – a catheter used to administer drugs – became infected. Main then went into toxic shock and died some days later.

Her mother, Kimberly Darroch, has since said she was “let down and lied to” by health officials over her daughter’s death.

The HPS report has found there was an upward shift above the infections rate average from March to December 2017, with the upper warning limit breached in August 2017, the month of Main’s death. It was also breached in March and May 2018, then in September 2019.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde apologised to families affected and said it hoped the report’s full findings will help reassure others of the site’s safety.

The board said in a statement: “We would like to reiterate how sorry we are to the families who may have been caused additional pain and distress and we’d again like to share our condolences to those who have suffered the tragedy of losing a child.

“Today’s independent report from Health Protection Scotland is welcome and demonstrates the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital/Royal Hospital for Children is safe.

“The report provides reassurance for the many families and the public who will have had concerns about the safety of the unit.”

The board said it has fully tested the water supply and surfaces in Ward 6A and reviewed individual infections and found no links between individual infections and no source of infections.

“The report’s findings are fully in keeping with our own Incident Management Team investigations that concluded the unit is safe,” it said.

Jane Grant, chief executive of the board, said: “We completely understand this has been a distressing time for families and staff, and we sympathise with them given the anxiety this has caused.

“Unfortunately there will always be a small number of patients who develop infections because of the seriousness of their illness and we are fully committed to supporting them and their families when this occurs.

“Families should be reassured that infection rates at present are within expected levels and the hospital is safe.

“We continue to support families affected at this time and we welcome the opportunity to work with parents and professor Craig White, who has been appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, to improve our performance in this area.”

She added she is “fully committed” to answering all questions.