A Belfast hospital ward for children is being closed for over a month after high levels of a fungus were discovered.
Belfast Trust said today that they “can confirm that increased levels of Aspergillus are present within one ward in the Children’s Haematology Ward and, in spite of recent efforts to manage the situation, we have taken the difficult decision to decant the ward for necessary remedial works to take place”.
The fungus is understood to be potentially harmful to people with a weakened immune system. The ward is part of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
The Trust added: “The ward will be closed for approximately five weeks whilst the work is carried out to allow us to improve our management of air quality in the unit. During this period all at risk patients will be cared for in other wards within the Hospital with appropriate care plans in place.
“We apologise to families impacted by this decision for the inconvenience it will cause. The safety and wellbeing of all our patients remains our top priority and every step is being taken to mitigate the short term risk to patients.”
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