Police have launched investigations into the deaths of six patients who contracted serious infections while receiving treatment at Scotland's troubled £1 billion superhospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. This development follows one of Britain's most significant NHS scandals, involving contaminated water systems and ventilation problems at the facility.
Expanding Investigation into Hospital Deaths
The probe now encompasses three adult and three child fatalities, marking a significant escalation in scrutiny of the hospital's safety record. This expansion comes after NHS bosses recently admitted that contaminated water at the hospital was likely responsible for serious infections in young cancer patients – a connection they had denied for six years.
Details of Cases Under Investigation
The six deaths currently being examined by authorities include:
- Milly Main, a 10-year-old girl who died in August 2017 after her medication delivery tube became infected with stenotrophomonas maltophilia, a bacteria linked to the hospital's water system. Milly had been in remission from leukaemia when she contracted the infection.
- Gail Armstrong, a 73-year-old from Glasgow, who died in January 2019 after contracting cryptococcus while receiving treatment for blood cancer. This bacterial infection is associated with bird droppings.
- Tony Dynes, a 65-year-old father-of-two from East Kilbride, who died in May 2021 after contracting both aspergillus and stenotrophomonas infections while being treated for lymphoma.
- Andrew Slorance, a 49-year-old Scottish Government adviser from Edinburgh, who died in December 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while awaiting a bone marrow transplant. He had also contracted aspergillus during his stay at the hospital.
- An unnamed 10-year-old boy who died in December 2018 after contracting cryptococcus within the hospital.
- An unnamed three-year-old child who died in August 2017 after catching an infection at the facility.
Families Speak Out About Systemic Failures
The revelations have prompted calls for criminal investigations into NHS chiefs who were in charge during the period when these infections occurred, as well as any government ministers who may have been aware of problems but failed to take appropriate action. Concerns have also been raised that the newly-built hospital may have opened prematurely due to pressure from the SNP government.
The 'Invisible Widows' Seeking Answers
Maureen Dynes, widow of Tony Dynes, has described feeling like an "invisible widow" in the QEUH scandal. She discovered only after her husband's death that he had contracted Stenotrophomonas maltophilia – the same infection that claimed Milly Main's life four years earlier. Review findings have suggested this infection was likely linked to the hospital's water system.
While in Ward 4B, a specialist unit for stem cell transplant patients, Mr Dynes also contracted aspergillus twice – an infection caused by mould spores commonly found in dust and soil. Mrs Dynes expressed concern that cases like her husband's risk being forgotten, particularly as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has only acknowledged potential connections between contaminated water and infections in child cancer patients between 2016 and 2018.
"I feel like there are cases which are being forgotten, particularly adults who died and those who got infections that their families believe are connected to ventilation problems at the QEUH," Mrs Dynes stated.
Systemic Issues Beyond Water Contamination
The health board has made no admissions regarding adult patients, cases outside the 2016-2018 period, or potential links between ventilation problems and infections from airborne pathogens such as aspergillus and cryptococcus. This limited acknowledgment has left many families without official recognition of their concerns.
Louise Slorance, widow of Andrew Slorance, has joined forces with Mrs Dynes in seeking answers. She discovered only after her husband's death that he had been treated for an aspergillus infection during his hospital stay. Mrs Slorance has criticised the public inquiry process, suggesting it has allowed the health board to "buy time" and potentially prevented other families from obtaining justice.
"As this has been going on so long, other people may have been encouraged to come forward but there's no accountability now, and it's going to be very hard for them to get any justice," she explained.
Ongoing Police Investigation
The Crown Office confirmed that Mr Dynes' death represents the sixth fatality at QEUH to be formally investigated. A spokesperson stated: "The Procurator Fiscal has received a report in connection with the death of a 65-year-old man on 21 May 2021 in Glasgow. The investigation into the death is ongoing and the family will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments."
This latest development follows previous revelations in 2021 that police were investigating four deaths after being contacted by Crown Office prosecutors, with Andrew Slorance's death later added to the investigation. The current expansion to six cases indicates growing concerns about the scale of potential safety failures at the hospital.
Both widows have expressed fears that similar cases may remain unreported, with families unaware that their loved ones contracted hospital-acquired infections. They worry that as time passes, obtaining categorical proof becomes increasingly difficult, potentially denying justice to affected families.
