Families of those affected by infections linked to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital have said they are “shocked to the core” by new evidence to an inquiry.
Medical physicist Dr Michael Bradnam told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry he had spent 15 years raising issues with ventilation systems, electrical safety and humidity control at the flagship Glasgow hospital. In a late submission to the inquiry, he said there had been no “formal responses” to his complaints.
Families react to evidence
The QEUH Patient and Family Group said: “The arrival of Bradnam’s evidence has shocked the families to the core. Not only in its content but also the realisation that some of the issues should have been rectified over a decade ago.
“This, like many other things, has reignited our trauma and as such we are taking time to digest the information contained in it and the many repercussions that lead from it.”
Dr Bradnam's concerns
The QEUH, one of the largest in the UK, has been subject to a national inquiry amid deaths and infections linked to its water and ventilation systems. Dr Bradnam said he had worked in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) health board for more than 40 years and had been involved in the QEUH project for about 20 years.
In evidence presented to the inquiry, he said he had submitted three separate formal situation, background, assessment and recommendations (SBAR) in relation to issues within the hospital. In one SBAR, he raised issues surrounding ventilation after concluding he was “not satisfied that the ventilation system was operating as intended”.
No formal response received
Dr Bradham said: “To date, I have received no formal response to those SBARs, nor any confirmation that my recommendations have been implemented or that the assurance gaps they identified have been addressed.
“I also do not know how far the SBARs were escalated within the health board’s governance processes or whether they were recorded on any corporate or departmental risk registers.”
The Scottish Government and NHSGGC have been approached for comment.
