Cancer patients ‘warned for years’ about hospital water infections

The father of a woman whose death is being investigated by prosecutors said a health board had been “warned for years” about problems with a major hospital’s water system that he said likely caused infections in children with cancer.

Molly Cuddihy – who died in August aged 23 – fell seriously ill in 2018 from an infection possibly acquired at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied that bacteria in water was responsible for some infections that led to patient deaths.

But in its final findings to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, it has now admitted “on the balance of probabilities” that there was a “causal link” between certain infections and the hospital environment.

Molly’s father John told BBC Scotland News the statement was a “belated recognition”.

He added: “Molly’s words and experience must continue to resonate beyond her lifetime.”

An NHSGGC spokesperson said it supported the investigation while the Scottish Government said it would be “inappropriate to comment”.

The inquiry was launched to examine mistakes made in the planning, design and construction of the QEUH campus following concerns about unusual infections and the deaths of four patients.

They included 10-year-old Milly Main, who died after contracting the stenotrophomonas bacteria while undergoing treatment for leukemia in 2017.

A separate corporate homicide investigation into the deaths of Milly, two other children and 73-year-old Gail Armstrong was launched in 2021.

And last year, prosecutors opened an investigation into Molly’s death after it was reported by a consultant.

Molly, from Gourock, Inverclyde, was 15 when she was diagnosed with metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma.

In 2024, she told BBC Scotland News she knew something was wrong when the radiologist started crying during her examination.

Cuddihy said concerns about the water supply were first raised in 2018, the same year Molly developed septic shock while receiving cancer treatment at the QEUH.

Scotland’s former police chief of organized crime and counter-terrorism said all his daughter wanted was official recognition of the problem with the hospital’s water system.

Cuddihy added: “The sad thing is Molly is in her grave and she never got to read the words or hear what they had to say.”

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry will hear oral submissions this week and Cuddihy hopes patients will be at the heart of the proceedings.

He said: “What I would like in the future is for Molly’s voice and those of these other children to influence real change.”

Cuddihy said this would include validated annual checks of hospitals’ ventilation and water systems.

Molly’s treatment for her previous hospital-acquired infections in 2018 and 2019, as well as her chemotherapy, had left her with irreparable liver damage.

She also had to undergo a kidney transplant in November 2024.

Overall, this meant treatment options following Molly’s last hospital admission last July were limited.

Cuddihy said: “The trauma continued long after the cancer had gone.

“Because the impact of the antibiotics – which would be given to leprosy patients – was so strong and given over a prolonged period of time, they had a great impact on his reduced kidney function, on his liver function, on his body in general and on his life experience.

“Her quality of life was reduced and this had a devastating impact on her.

“I have no doubt that Molly’s quality of life has been further eroded because of the bacteria. Absolutely no doubt.”

Visibly moved, Cuddihy added: “If Molly had only had cancer, and I say only they had had cancer to deal with, it was hard enough, but maybe Molly would be here.

“And that’s a hard thing to accept. We’ll never know.”

In 2022, Molly gave evidence to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry about her experiences at the QEUH while undergoing chemotherapy as a teenager.

The investigation also looks into issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh.

Molly told the inquest how she became seriously ill in the summer of 2018 following an infection contracted from an intravenous line used to administer her medication.

Cuddihy said he was disappointed his daughter was not mentioned in the health board’s findings and said it was essential the victims were included in the inquiry’s findings.

He also hopes the health board’s admission will mark “a turning point in culture, governance and accountability within NHS Scotland”.

Cuddihy said: “Nothing will bring Molly back.

“We now hope that her testimony, her suffering and her courage will help to ensure that no other young person, or family, has to endure what she did.”

In a final statement to the inquiry, the NHSGGC said it had been “widely acknowledged” that there was no “definitive link between infections and the water system”.

But it is “more likely than not” that some of the infections patients are suffering from are linked to the hospital’s water supply.

They said: “The NHSGGC recognizes that, on the balance of probabilities, there is a causal link between certain infections suffered by patients and the hospital environment, in particular the water system. »

Asked for the final statement, an NHSGGC spokesperson said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the inquiry in its investigations. »

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have established a statutory public inquiry so that families can get their questions answered and lessons can be learned for future hospital projects.

“As the lead independent participant in the inquiry, the Scottish Government is committed to assisting the investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Milly Main underwent a successful stem cell transplant in July 2017 while in remission from leukemia.

His Hickman line, a catheter used to deliver medication, later became infected.

Milly’s condition deteriorated and she suffered toxic shock. She died on August 31, 2017.

His mother, Kimberly Darroch, welcomed the NHSGGC admission, but said it should have happened much sooner for the families affected.

Darroch told BBC Scotland News: “As a mother, I spent six years fighting for answers that should have been given from the start.

“It is good news that the health board has accepted that, on the balance of probabilities, there was a causal link between the environment and Milly’s blood infection.

“This recognition is an important milestone for our family, but it also highlights how hard families have had to fight just to have the truth recognized.”

In 2024, the former doctor responsible for infection control at the hospital told the inquest there was no direct evidence linking infections to the building.

Patrick McGuire, senior associate at Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, represents many of the affected families.

He accused the health board of “callous fraud and dishonesty”.

The attorney added: “The families have now been vindicated, but only after years of denigration and dismissal by the board of health.”

Opposition politicians said the Scottish Government had questions that needed to be answered.

Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar said: “The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures of modern Scottish public life.

“Since the hospital opened, there have been a host of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures and infections that have devastated families.”

Sarwar said families had been forced to “fight for the truth” about what happened to their children and added that the health board’s admission “should be a turning point.”

And Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said there was evidence of a “cover-up at the highest levels”.

He said: “There is now a substantial body of evidence which points to a cover-up at the highest level, which has only been revealed by this investigation.

“Families like those of Milly Main, Molly Cuddihy and many others have waited years for clear answers from those responsible.

“These are now mined rather than given away for free.”