A chair covered in pigeon droppings was spotted at a £1 billion Scottish hospital yesterday, despite two recent deaths there being linked to bird faeces - including a child's.
The filthy pink chair was first spotted by a stunned patient in October in a public car park at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Despite two recent deaths at the hospital being linked to an infection caused by pigeon droppings, the chair was still there.
The ground around it was littered with pigeon droppings and cigarette butts.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman revealed the news about the child patient's death as she launched a major review of the design of the hospital following a series of incidents since it opened.
This chair covered in pigeon poo was left in the open for three months at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow
The airborne infection is thought to have entered the ventilation system after pigeons got into a plant room at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.
The NHS board said an elderly patient was also infected with the bacteria at the hospital but died from an unrelated cause.
And it emerged that two other patients at QEUH have contracted a different fungal infection in recent days, and a separate probe has been launched into its source – thought to be a water leak.
Critics said the public would be ‘shocked’ that pigeons and infections could ‘kill patients’ in Scotland.
The state-of-the-art hospital was built for the Scottish Government at a cost of almost £1billion and opened at the end of April 2015.
But Miss Freeman said there appeared to be a ‘number of instances’ where the fabric of the building was ‘less than satisfactory’.
There has been a catalogue of problems since the QEUH opened including blocked drains, dirty wards and an incident last year when bacteria were found in the water supply of the children’s cancer ward.
A child patient was killed at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after contracting an infection from pigeon droppings
After visiting the hospital yesterday morning, the Health Secretary said: ‘I have agreed a review, with external expert advice, that will look at the design of the building, the commissioning of the work, the construction of the building, the handover of the building and the maintenance of the building, in order to ensure we identify where issues were raised that should have been addressed and where maintenance programmes now should be perhaps more robust or more frequent.’
Miss Freeman announced the review after setting out ‘clear factual points’ on the two patient deaths to MSPs at Holyrood.
She said Cryptococcus had initially been identified in one patient in November last year. The unnamed person was discharged for palliative care and the bug was not linked to their death until the following month.
She added: ‘In December a post-mortem of a child who has passed away confirmed that Cryptococcus was both present and a contributory factor in their death.’
This case triggered additional infection control measures by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), including prescribing anti-fungal medication to ‘vulnerable patients’.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman made the revelation yesterday as she launched a major review
The minister said: ‘I am confident the board have taken all the steps they should to ensure and maintain patient safety.’
Miss Freeman confirmed that two further patients had contracted a separate infection.
She said: ‘I have been advised that there has been a fungal infection, not connected to the one that we are discussing. It affects two patients... the source of that infection is being pursued. Additional safety measures have been put in place including air sampling and enhanced cleaning. It is unrelated to the infection caused by pigeon excrement.’
Labour health spokesman Monica Lennon said: ‘I think the people of Scotland will feel it is absolutely extraordinary that in a modern hospital – Scotland’s flagship and apparently super-hospital no less – we have a situation where pigeons and infections can kill patients. If this unthinkable and deadly infection can happen at the flagship Queen Elizabeth, what is to stop it happening at other hospitals?’
She pressed Miss Freeman on when the Government had been alerted to the issue, after reports that a QEUH outpatient had contacted previous health secretary Shona Robison in March 2018 regarding problems with pigeons.
Miss Freeman said a thorough search of records had found no trace of this letter.
NHSGGC said patient safety is its top priority and welcomed the review. It confirmed that two patients had tested positive for a fungal organism ‘totally unconnected to Cryptococcus’.
One is receiving treatment while the other does not require medical help.
The ‘likely source’, a water leak, has been repaired and investigations continue.
A spokesman added: ‘It is important to recognise that the staff at QEUH provide excellent care to many thousands of patients admitted every year and that the hospital has very good clinical outcomes.’
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News Photo Child dies and elderly patient was infected by bacteria from pigeon droppings in Glasgow
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