I owe my life to a transplant but hospital gave me an incurable bug
Dad’s devastation at deadly infection from famous unit
A TRANSPLANT patient has told of his anger after picking up a deadly bug at the hospital that saved him.
Keith Hurworth, 48, is one of 20 patients who contracted Mycobacterium Abscessus at the Royal Papworth Hospital – one of whom died.
The bug, which is found in infected water, stays in the body and can attack the lungs and eat into bones.
Keith, who was in hospital for a double lung transplant, has been told there is no cure or effective treatment for it.
And if his new lungs fail, the bug prevents him having a second transplant.
The dad-of-two now wants to know why he was admitted for his op five months after the world-famous Royal Papworth declared a serious incident.
The infection was found in the hospital’s water supply soon after it moved to a site next to nearby Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
Keith says he was not told about the bug before his double transplant in February 2020.
UPSET
Five lung transplant patients were infected, and 15 people with serious lung conditions.
The bug was first identified in August 2019 and a serious incident was declared by the NHS Trust the following month.
But Keith says the first he knew about the problem was last May, when a doctor told him he was infected.
Keith, from Cotgrave, near Nottingham, said: “I owe my life to Papworth but I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me.
“When doctors told me I was infected, they were in tears. Everyone was so upset. I deserved to know there had been this bug in the water.”
Married Keith, who is dad to Liam, 23, and Libby, 19, is now taking legal action.
He said: “I am worried sick. It has made my depression worse and I feel I am back at square one. I am scared to go outside. I was given the gift of life and I feel like I owe it to the person who I got the lungs from to get solicitors involved.
“Otherwise it feels like the lungs have been wasted.”
Keith worked with cement and suffered breathing problems for years. He learned he had been infected when he went for a post-op check-up.
He added: “It was devastating for me, my wife and the children. I’ve been told I can’t have another transplant because once the infection is in your body, not a lot can be done.
“The bug is sitting dormant at the moment. But when it starts up, I might have only months to live.
“The only drug is one that slows it down. That this outbreak has not just affected me but others as well is worrying. My family feel very upset and angry. I feel a terrible conflict in going to lawyers, but I wasn’t told about the bug. I am trying to understand why.
“I deserve to know if more could have been done to prevent me falling ill.”
Keith was also put through the wringer by Covid but a steroid drug saved his life.
Clare Pearson, of lawyers Irwin Mitchell, said: “This has had a major impact on Keith and caused great concern among other patients. While we welcome the fact the Trust identified areas for future action, it is worrying that Keith contracted his infection six months after the first cases were identified.”
The Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said its initial probe was completed in May 2020 – after Keith’s treatment – and patients were informed. In a statement, it said no M.Abscessus in water had been recorded for several months and patients were being given information to make decisions about their care.
A spokesman added: “Any patient identified as vulnerable is being given bottled water. We have fitted taps and showers with filters in areas where vulnerable patients are managed post-operatively. We continue to conduct regular sampling of our water supply.”
I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me about this bug. I may only have months to live KEITH HURWORTH DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT PATIENT