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 was "warned for years" about issues with a major hospital's water system that it has now admitted probably caused infections in child cancer patients.

Molly Cuddihy - who died in August aged 23 - became seriously ill in 2018 with an infection potentially acquired at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients.

But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry it has now admitted "on the balance of probabilities", that there was a "causal connection" between some infections and the hospital environment.

Molly's father, John, told BBC Scotland News the statement was "overdue recognition".

He added: "Molly's words and experience must continue to echo beyond her lifetime."

A spokesperson for NHSGGC said it was supporting the inquiry while the Scottish government said it would be "inappropriate to comment".

The probe 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.

Those included 10-year-old Milly Main, who died after contracting the stenotrophomonas bacteria while undergoing treatment for leukaemia 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 sarcoma.

In 2024 she told BBC Scotland News how she knew something was wrong when the radiographer started crying during her scan.

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.

The former Police Scotland head of organised crime and counter terrorism said all his daughter wanted was official acknowledgement that there was an issue 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 this week hear oral submissions and Cuddihy hopes patients will be at the heart of the proceedings.

He said: "What I would like going forward is that Molly's voice and the voices of those other children will influence real change."

Cuddihy said this would include annual, validated checks to hospital 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.

Taken together this meant the treatment options after Molly's final admission to hospital last July were limited.

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

"Because the impact of the antibiotics - which would be administered to leprosy patients - were so strong, were given over a prolonged period of time, they had a material impact on the reduced kidney function, on her liver function on her overall body and living experience.

"Her quality of life was reduced and it had a devastating impact on her.

"I am in no doubt that Molly's quality of life was further eroded as a result of the bacteria. Absolutely no doubt."

Visibly emotional, Cuddihy added: "Had Molly only had the cancer, and I say only the had cancer to contend with, it was hard enough, but perhaps Molly would be here.

"And that's a hard thing to take. We will never know."

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

The inquiry is also investigating issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh.

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

Cuddihy said he was disappointed his daughter was not mentioned in the health board's submission and said it was vital the victims feature in the inquiry's conclusions.

He also hopes the health board's admission mark a "turning point in culture, governance and accountability across NHS Scotland".

Cuddihy said: "Nothing will bring Molly back.

"Our hope now is that her testimony, her suffering and her courage help ensure that no other young person, and no other family, has to endure what she did."

In a closing statement to the Inquiry, NHSGGC said it had been "broadly acknowledged" there was no "definite link between infections and the water system".

But it said it was "more likely than not" some infections suffered by patients were connected to the hospital's water supply.

They said: "NHSGGC accepts that, on the balance of probabilities, there is a causal connection between some infections suffered by patients and the hospital environment, in particular the water system."

Asked about the closing statement, a spokesperson for NHSGGC said: "We remain fully committed to supporting the Inquiry in its investigations."

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "We established a statutory public inquiry so that families could get answers to their questions, and so that lessons can be learned for future hospital projects.

"As an independent core participant of the Inquiry, the Scottish government is committed to assisting the Inquiry and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time."

Milly Main had a successful stem cell transplant in July 2017 while in remission from leukaemia.

Her Hickman line, a catheter used to administer drugs, later became infected.

Milly's condition deteriorated and she went into toxic shock. She died on 31 August 2017.

Her mother, Kimberly Darroch, welcomed the admission from NHSGGC, but said it should have come much earlier for the families involved.

Darroch told BBC Scotland News: "As a mother, I've spent six years fighting for answers that should have been given at the very beginning.

"It is good news that the health board has admitted that, on the balance of probabilities, there was a causal connection between the environment and Milly's bloodstream infection.

"This acknowledgement is a significant milestone for our family, but it also highlights how hard families have had to fight just to have the truth recognised".

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

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

He accused the health board of "callous evasion and dishonesty".

The solicitor added: "The families have now been vindicated but only after years of being denigrated and dismissed by the health board."

Opposition politicians said the Scottish government had questions to answer.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life.

"Since the hospital opened, there has been a litany of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures, and infections that devastated families."

Sarwar said families had been forced to "fight for the truth" about what happened to their children and added 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 very top."

He said: "There is now a substantial body of evidence that points to a cover-up at the very top, which has only been exposed by this inquiry.

"Families like those of Milly Main, Molly Cuddihy and many others have waited years to get straight answers from those responsible.

"Those are now being extracted rather than freely given."