Senior doctor 'appalled' at state of new kids' cancer ward - inquiry

A elder doc has told an enquiry she was “appalled” astatine the authorities of kid crab wards erstwhile a caller £870m infirmary opened successful Glasgow successful 2015.

In grounds presented to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, corruption power doc Teresa Inkster said she felt "something had gone horribly wrong”.

Dr Inkster was the lead corruption power doc for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde from April 2016 to September 2019.

During that clip the children's crab wards were forced to adjacent due to the fact that of a spike successful antithetic infections.

The enquiry is investigating the operation of the £870m Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) field successful Glasgow, which includes the Royal Hospital for Children.

It was acceptable up aft a fig of diligent deaths including that of 10-year-old crab diligent Milly Main.

Dr Inkster led the probe into 2 cases of cryptococcus successful 2019, a fungal corruption associated with pigeons droppings. Two patients died aft contracting the fungal corruption portion being treated astatine the hospital.

In written grounds to the inquiry, Dr Inkster said connected a locomotion circular of the wards astatine the Royal Hospital for Children successful July 2015 she recovered “holes successful the ceiling”, “dust falling connected her head” with “workman drilling holes with the astir immunocompromised children present”.

Dr Inkster said: “In my view, thing had gone horribly wrong”.

She told the enquiry determination had been issues with h2o damage and ventilation systems being "poorly managed".

"People don't recognize the request to region each of the mouldy material, they whitethorn conscionable absorption connected the tile that the h2o is dripping from, they don't bash afloat inspections of the ceiling void," she said.

"The worldly that is near is simply a cleanable ambiance for mould to grow."

There were not "sufficient accommodations" for children with compromised immune systems Dr Inkster argued, adding that full wards could person been "protective environments", not conscionable the isolation rooms for the astir susceptible patients.

"I observed myself that it was precise hard for children to beryllium confined to a country for the magnitude of clip they needed to beryllium for bony marrow transplant, and I did spot patients connected juncture being fto retired of the country and into the corridor," she said. "I tin recognize why."

Dr Inkster took implicit the relation of pb corruption power doc aft the resignation of her brag Prof Craig Williams successful April 2016.

In his grounds to the enquiry past period helium denied allegations of bullying, saying different doctors had tried to undermine his position.

Dr Inkster, however, described moving successful “an situation of suppression and fear” wherever she was told by Prof Williams not to constitute things down.

She said she and different corruption power doc (ICD), Christine Peters, had expressed concerns astir what they were seeing successful some the children and adults hospital.

But the doctor, who joined the wellness board's corruption prevention and power squad arsenic a advisor microbiologist successful 2009, said they were not taken seriously.

“I felt that myself and Dr Peters were being labelled arsenic hard and hazard adverse," she wrote successful her 391-page grounds submission.

"And that, that was each determination was to spot here, that it was property issues alternatively than immoderate existent genuine interest that determination were diligent information issues astir the issues we were addressing.”

In her statement, Dr Inkster besides said by the autumn of 2015 it was “clear that, astatine this point, determination was an consciousness by precise elder unit that determination were issues and determination were meetings taking place.”

A 10-year-old lad and a 73-year-old pistillate died aft contracting a cryptococcus infection, linked to pigeon droppings, portion being treated astatine the hospital.

The enquiry heard that 3 different patients had tested affirmative for the infection.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde does not judge that 3 of the cases are associated with the hospital, nor that determination was immoderate causal nexus betwixt cryptococcus neoformans infections and the beingness of pigeon excrement astatine the hospital.

The enquiry continues.