Patient died in ICU af ter outbreak of drug-resistant bug
Hospital tragedy revealed in health board report
A PATIENT has died after an infection outbreak in an intensive care unit.
The incident involved two cases of a multi-drug resistant infection at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
The outbreak is revealed in official papers from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC).
The health board’s ‘hypothesis’ is that transmission took place in the unit because both cases had the same type of infection, multi-drug resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Both cases were flagged red last month, the most serious category of infection.
NHSGGC said one patient, who had serious underlying conditions, had died, but did not issue further details.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is found in the general environment and rarely affects healthy people. However, it can cause a wide range of infections, particularly in people with a weakened immune system.
Hospital- acquired i nfections are sometimes associated with contaminated equipment such as r espiratory equipment and catheters.
Some varieties of the bug are said to be resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
Water sampling tests i n the i ntensive care unit could not detect any trace of the bacteria.
Tests of water, gloves and all shared equipment were negative but the board said investigations were continuing.
The board report states that the ‘index patient had pseudomonas with an i ncreasing resistance pattern over time. Another patient became positive with the same type of pseudomonas, so the hypothesis was that this was due to cross-transmission on the unit.
‘One patient sadly passed away. This patient had other serious underlying conditions which had required ITU care.’
Professor Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said of the bug: ‘It is an ICU pest when it contaminates equipment and has been a significant problem pre- Covid f or patients being ventilated.’
NHSGGC said blood cultures had detected a type match between the affected patients.
A spokesman for NHSGGC said: ‘Our condolences go out to families and friends who have lost a loved one. While we cannot comment on individual cases in the media, we can confirm that incident management teams were established in relation to these incidents and swift action was taken as a result.
‘We have strict infection prevention and control procedures in place and all staff follow national guidance. These incidents have been reported to our board as part of our robust management and governance of infection prevention and control processes in our hospitals.’
NHSGGC has come in for criticism for hospital infections at its flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Royal Hospital for Children.
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry is investigating the construction of the QEUH campus in Glasgow, as well as the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh. The inquiry was ordered by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman after patients at the Glasgow site died from infections allegedly linked to pigeon droppings, and the opening of the Edinburgh site was delayed because its ventilation system did not meet air quality guidelines.
Kimberly Darroch, the mother of ten-year-old Milly Main who died in the Royal Hospital for Children i n 2017 after contracting an i nfection, has l aunched l egal action against NHSGGC as she blames contaminated water in the £ 842million hospital f or her daughter’s death.
The schoolgirl was in remission from leukaemia but died from an infection in her chemotherapy catheter.
An independent review found no sound evidence that avoidable deaths have resulted from failures in the design, build, commissioning or maintenance of the QEUH and Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
‘It contaminates equipment’