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NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Accepts Probable Link Between Infections and Hospital Water System
NHSGGC links bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer patients from 2016-2018 to hospital water system after expert evidence, shifting its previous stance.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde accepted in closing submissions that infections were more likely than not linked to the hospital environment, particularly the water supply, with the admission published ahead of final oral hearings starting on January 20.
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry was set up to investigate failures at the £842 million QEUH after concerns about infections and the death of 10-year-old Milly Main in 2017 at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.
Expert testimony showed that bloodstream infections between 2016 and 2018 in the paediatric haemato‑oncology population likely linked to the water system, with infection rates falling after remedial measures begun in 2018.
NHSGGC was named as a suspect in a corporate homicide probe, and last week, 25 procedures were postponed after a burst pipe on January 9, disrupting hospital operations.
Families and their lawyers welcomed the admission but demanded accountability and swifter answers, while campaigners and lawyers urged an extended inquiry noting remedial measures begun in 2018 coincided with falling infection rates.