Axe the reckless hospital bosses, dad tells inquiry
Teenager’s life at risk as warnings ignored
THE father of a teenage cancer patient who caught a life-threatening infection at a flagship hospital has called for ‘reckless’ senior managers to be removed from their posts.
Professor John Cuddihy’s daughter Molly, 19, began treatment for a tumour in her ribs at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) on Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in January 2018.
The teenager has impressed stars including Take That’s Gary Barlow with her brave cancer battle.
Professor Cuddihy is a former head of organised crime and counter-terrorism at Strathclyde Police and a government consultant on risk and conflict.
He became aware of the problem of environmental infections at the QEUH after his daughter fell seriously ill with a rare hospital-acquired infection.
He told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry yesterday that reports which found a risk of water contamination when the flagship hospital was built were ‘lost’ by health bosses. He spoke of a report carried out for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde by risk consultancy firm DMA Canyon in 2015 which ‘highlighted a raft of very concerning issues with water management and bacterial control resulting in a number of high risks being identified, including filters having been bypassed introducing debris into the system’.
In 2017, DMA Canyon produced a second report warning that recommendations made in 2015 had not been implemented, he added.
Professor Cuddihy said: ‘As tanks had not been cleaned, any contamination could potentially have been flushed into the system and have colonised parts of the system. The report also made reference to positive tests for bacteria in 2017 indicating potential bacterial control issues.’
A third DMA Canyon report in 2018 was not acted upon either, he said.
‘Rather than implement the immediate urgent recommendations, the report was once again lost, exposing my daughter and every other child to significant risk,’ he said.
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, chaired by Lord Brodie in Edinof burgh, is investigating the construction of the QEUH campus after issues at the flagship site were linked to the deaths of two children.
Earlier this year, an independent review found the fatalities were at least in part the result of infections linked to the hospital environment.
Professor Cuddihy, who sits on the NHSGGC Oversight Board set up to address problems at the health board, called for a change in leadership.
He said: ‘I am convinced that until there is tangible evidence change, there will continue to be failures to protect the most vulnerable, resulting in serious illness and fatalities.
‘I believe that there has been a corporate failing with regards to ensuring that the environment in which my daughter was treated, was safe.’
He added: ‘There appears to me to have been sufficient information available from 2015 that resulted in those responsible for infection prevention and control raising concerns that the environment presented increased risk to vulnerable cancer patients, such as my daughter Molly.’
He praised medical and nursing staff for saving his daughter’s life but said board management were ‘dysfunctional or corrupt’.
He said: ‘They have systematically, tried to frustrate and suppress each and every investigation and engaged in wilful acts so reckless as to show an utter disregard for the consequences. They have presided over a crisis which has become a scandal.
‘One cannot ignore the fact that my daughter contracted a hospital acquired infection and in doing so impacted her quality of life and chances of survival.
The inquiry continues. Health boards are due to give evidence at a later date.