Five dead in hospital listeria scandal as NHS review ordered
3 patients die after eating contaminated sandwiches in hospitals From last Saturday’s Mail
A HOSPITAL listeria outbreak was branded a national scandal last night after it emerged that five patients have now died.
Following a week of silence, officials revealed yesterday that food poisoning blamed on pre-packed sandwiches and salads had claimed two lives on top of the three announced last week.
A further three non-fatal cases were identified. Last night, Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered an urgent ‘root and branch review’ of hospital food.
Public Health England has been accused of keeping the public in the dark by refusing to say which hospitals have been affected and holding back details. It has also decided not to set up a helpline for worried families, saying they should check the NHS website or dial 111.
Last night, MPs demanded a statement to Parliament from Mr Hancock and questioned whether he had been distracted by his failed Tory leadership bid.
As pressure mounted to keep the public better informed:
The British Sandwich Association said seriously ill patients should not be served sandwiches or salads due to poor hygiene standards;
A leading food safety expert said the sandwich manufacturer in the outbreak had ‘made a mockery’ of measures aimed at stopping bugs such as listeria;
Former health ministers demanded the release of the names of all the hospitals hit by the outbreak;
Kaarin Goodburn, director of the Chilled Food Association, branded the outbreak a ‘national scandal that has been going on for 20 years’.
Of the cases announced last week, the first patient displayed symptoms on April 25, with the most recent on May 15.
Sandwiches and salads supsource plied by the firm in question – The Good Food Chain – were withdrawn on May 25, as soon as a link with the cases was suspected. But it was not until June 7 that Public Health England informed the public.
The government agency said it had waited to confirm the of the contaminated meat before releasing details.
Despite MPs demanding a full explanation, no statement on the growing scandal has been given to Parliament.
The Good Food Chain supplied food to 43 of the NHS’s 135 trusts. It is known only that two of those who died had been treated at Manchester Royal Infirmary and another at Aintree University Hospital in Merseyside. The outbreak also hit the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.
Former Labour health minister Ben Bradshaw said: ‘The public have a right to know where these hospitals are. The NHS needs to urgently examine their policies on food provision.
‘With the Tory contest going on, there is no leadership from any of the Cabinet.’
The Good Food Chain has ceased production at its Staffordshire plant, as has the firm which supplied the contaminated meat, North Country Cooked Meats, based in Salford.
The outbreak comes three years after a report found prepacked sandwiches were the cause of ‘almost all’ of the nine previous hospital listeria outbreaks in 13 years.
This week the National Audit Office found spending on food hygiene by councils, which are responsible for inspecting producers, has fallen by almost a fifth over the past five years.
Opposition MPs last night demanded a Commons statement from Mr Hancock, who pulled out of the Tory leadership race yesterday morning.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s health spokesman, said: ‘Given this latest tragic news it’s vital the Health Secretary provides a full statement in the Commons.’
The Health Secretary said: ‘I have instructed the NHS to conduct a root and branch review of hospital food.’
Dr Nick Phin of Public Health England said: ‘Swift action was taken to protect patients and any risk to the public is low. We continue to investigate.’
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