ALMOST £60,000 was spent on bottled water at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital last year, when 21 children developed bacterial infections linked to the tap supply.

Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde forked out £58,691 on mineral water for paediatric and adult patients.

It follows a series of cases, over the past three years, where children have contracted infections linked to the water.

Last week, a damning report by Health Protection Scotland revealed concerns were raised about the safety of the supply before the hospitals opened in 2015.

The contractor responsible for building the QUEH campus was forced to sanitise the entire system before handing it over to the health board after sampling detected “hygiene issues with the water supply.”

Between January and 29 and September 20, 21 children being treated in the Shiehallion cancer unit developed a range of blood infections caused by 12 separate types of bacteria and fungi.

Prior to that in February 2016, a child with cancer developed a bloodstream infection, which was traced to a wash-hand basin in the pharmacy department.

A second paediatric cancer patient fell ill with the same bug in September 2017, but the source was found to be a different wash-hand basin.

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: “Last year we experienced an issue with the water at the Royal Hospital for Children.

“Whilst at no time did we instruct patients not to drink the tap water, we did offer patients a choice of bottled water on request.

“Our engineering teams have now installed a water treatment system within the Royal Hospital for Children and are working on the new system for the adult hospital. This will be completed in March.

“In the meantime, filters remain in place and we continue to monitor the quality of water with very encouraging results.”