Parents claim there has been a “fundamental breakdown” of trust at Glasgow’s £872million hospital.
Thirteen children being treated for cancer have become infected at the Queen Elizabeth University
Hospital (QEUH), Govan, in the last five months, and patients are being given bottled water to drink while investigations continue.
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A row erupted over a tap water ban after the health board initially said patients had never been advised the water wasn’t suitable for drinking.
Health chiefs then issued a letter to parents on Friday night, stating: “At no time have we instructed patients not to drink the tap water.”
Parents have claimed a breakdown in trust in the hospital’s management.
Annemarie Kirkpatrick, from Dumfries, told our sister paper The Herald on Sunday her 15-year-old daughter Stevie-Jo had become infected with Mycobacterium
chelonae from the hospital’s water supply.
She said the children were stopped from drinking the hospital’s tap water when they moved from the Royal Hospital for Children to
the adjacent QEUH in September.
Father Alfie Rawson, from Glasgow, 47, said there is simply “no trust” left in
hospital management.
Mr Rawson’s three-year-old daughter Paige has been receiving cancer treatment at the hospital.
He said: “There is no trust left between parents and the people running that hospital, and we will not stay silent any more.
“I don’t know how they can say the children can drink
the tap water. There are signs all over the ward and above all the sinks saying it is for hand washing only.
“The nurses have told us to use bottled water and have even shown us where to get it.”
A health board spokesman said: “At no time have we instructed patients not to drink the tap water.
“Bone marrow transplant patients are supplied
bottled sterilised water
in line with UK-wide practice.”
A spokeswoman added: “We have been providing bottled water to parents while ongoing enhancements to the ward have been taking place.
“The water supply has been independently tested and is wholesome. This means the water is safe to drink, including from the hand-washing sinks. However, we do not encourage patients in any of our wards to drink from these sinks as people are using them to wash their hands.”
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