Child cancer patients moved in water scare

Child cancer patients have been moved out of two wards at a stateof-the-art Glasgow hospital after a bacteria outbreak linked to the water supply.

Six new cases of bacteraemia have been reported at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

It comes after issues with the hospital’s water supply in wards 2A and 2B originally led to cases of infection between January and June.

A fresh investigation has been

launched by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Metal parts inside taps were replaced with plastic ones after the original outbreak was identified.

Filters were also attached to the taps, the drains were washed with a chlorine-based detergent and the wards were cleaned.

The health authority said the problem was due to a build-up of biofilm in the drains – the same found in domestic sinks.

This happened seven weeks after they were cleaned with hydrogen peroxide vapour.

The wards treat children with cancer who have very low immunity to infections.

A total of 22 patients have been moved to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital while experts put cameras down the drains to investigate.

Those moved include four bone marrow patients.

A spokeswoman for the health board said all the children have recovered and been discharged or were continuing with their normal treatment.

She said: “These wards treat childrenwithcancerwhohave very low immunity to infections, so to let our experts in and put cameras down the drains we need to move the patients.”

The spokeswoman added: “No other services at the Royal Hospital for Children are affected.”

The hospital was opened in June 2015 to replace the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill.