A third premature baby has died from a rare hospital-acquired blood infection.
The baby, who has not been identified, died at the Princess Royal Maternity (PRM) in Glasgow where two other premature babies Two newborns who died at Glasgow maternity hospital had 'extremely rare infection'.
Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board would not say when the third baby died but confirmed, like the other two infants, staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection was one of the contributing factors in the death.
Two newborns who died at Glasgow maternity hospital had 'extremely rare infection'
Until yesterday, the health board had confirmed only two deaths but, after information was passed to our sister title the Daily Record, they admitted a third death had occurred.
In January, we told how two tots had died and a third was said to be in a “stable” condition with the bacterial infection. It is not known if this is the baby who subsequently died or whether it was one of “a number” of cases at the hospital.
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The health board said they had been “ rigorously managing a number of cases” but said since early March – two months after the other deaths – no further patients had tested positive for the infection.
They confirmed: “Three babies, who were extremely poorly due to their very early birth, sadly died and infection was one of a number of contributing causes in their deaths.
“A programme of staff and family screening was carried out, as has been previously reported.
“As this was an extremely rare strain which is highly resistant to the two antibiotics normally prescribed for S. Aureus and the skin cleaning agent routinely used in hospitals across the UK, we put in place a number of further infection control measures including the prescribing of different antibiotics and the introduction of a new skin cleaning agent.”
The baby brings the death toll after picking up hospital acquired infections in Greater Glasgow and Clyde to seven since January.
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A 73-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy both died after contracting cryptococcus – an infection linked to pigeon droppings – at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in January.
Later that month, the health board announced a second infection at the same hospital. Two patients tested positive for the mucor virus. One of them, gran Mito Kaur, 63, died on March 14.
The following month a patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, died after contracting bacterial infection stenotrophomonas maltophilia.
Charlotte Alexander was born 12 weeks premature at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley on January 4 and was transferred to the PRM where she was in an incubator next to one of the babies who died.
Her mum, Lynn, was afraid Charlotte also had the bug but it took another two hospital moves – to the QEUH’s maternity unit and back to the RAH – before it was confirmed.
Charlotte got home three weeks ago and is doing well. Her mum admitted she was “glad we’re out of that situation”.
The shocked mum said it was horrible that “after all these months it’s still being passed back and forth, disgraceful.”
Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said: “The Health Secretary must reassure the public and NHS staff that she has all the facts and is doing everything possible to improve infection control and safety in all of Scotland’s hospitals.”
Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “Patients and their families will be concerned that information was not being provided to families about what was an on-going situation and the fact a third baby had died from he same infection.
Lib Dem’s Alex Cole-Hamilton said the human cost of these infections was only now being truly realised.
