BOSSES accused of ignoring warnings about the risk of infections at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) before it opened have been urged to step down.
A report leaked by a whistleblower revealed that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) was told areas of the flagship £800 million campus were at a “high risk” of infections before opening in 2015.
A further two reports, which were also leaked to Labour MSP Anas Sarwar, suggested that issues were still pervasive at the hospital in 2017 and 2018.
Milly Main died in August 2017 after she had beaten cancer and her death has been linked to an infection caused by contaminated water.
The 10-year-old’s mother, Kimberly Darroch, 35, from Lanark, has said she is “100%” certain that contaminated water caused the infection, Stenotrophomonas, listed as a possible cause on her daughter’s death certificate.
She told BBC Scotland she was “shocked” by the latest leaked report.
READ MORE: Sarwar: Health board knew of infection risk before opening hospital
“The fact that they’ve known since 2015 ... it’s absolutely disgusting that nothing was done about it and no action was taken and the hospital was still opened,” she said.
“I believe Milly would still be here if action had been taken. I’ve no doubt in my mind that Milly would be sitting beside me, right now. There is no words to describe that pain of knowing that if things had been different, that if things had been sorted with the water, she would still be here.
“I think the health board needs to be held accountable for the mistakes that they made.”
Sarwar has now said those responsible should step aside: “The senior managers who ignored repeated warnings about the risk of infections at the hospital should not be in their posts today. You wouldn’t have suspects in a crime scene walking around the building. By remaining on the scene, they compromise the investigation.
“Now that the health board is in special measures, senior managers must be moved aside and a truly independent system put in place to run the hospital until public confidence is fully restored.”
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has called a public inquiry into issues at the hospital, while the board has issued an apology to families affected by infections.
A spokesperson for NHSGGC said: “We are very sorry for the ongoing distress that has been caused to Ms Darroch and we want to provide parents with as much support as possible.
“We are in contact with Ms Darroch and would like to meet her to answer her questions if she would be happy to do that.”
The documents seen by Sarwar show NHS Estates commissioned three independent reports into the water supply at the QEUH. The first, by private contractor DMA Water Treatment in April 2015 classed the management of bacteria as “high risk” because of “significant communication issues between the parties” responsible for managing the risk.
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