Fatal bug found in hospital taps

A deadly infection which killed four babies in the North has been discovered in the taps at a hospital.

The pseudomonas bacteria was uncovered at the neo-natal unit at Altnagelvin, Derry, where an infant died before Christmas, the North's Public Health Agency (PHA) said.

Steps have been taken to ensure newborns do not come into contact with the infected supply and only sterile water is used for their direct care. No babies are infected but two have it on their skin.

Separate outbreaks claimed the lives of one newborn at Altnagelvin in December and three at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast this month.

Health trusts may not have acted quickly enough to prevent hospital outbreaks of the deadly infection, the Stormont health minister has said.

Announcing an independent investigation into the pseudomonas bacteria emergencies in three neonatal units, Edwin Poots told the Assembly that the actions of trust officials needed to be rigorously examined.

Traces of the infection were also detected in the neonatal unit at the Ulster Hospital on the outskirts of Belfast at the weekend, though no infants contracted it.

The parents of one of the four babies who died from pseudomonas had called for a public inquiry.

Gavin Burke and Caoimhe Campbell’s 10-day-old son, Caolan, died in the neonatal unit in Derry last month.

Ms Campbell said last week: “He would still be here only for that infection.”

She added: “We want a public inquiry into this because it’ll get at the truth.”

Taps and water systems in the three units have been identified as the source of the outbreaks and health chiefs have faced tough questions on whether enough was done to warn other hospitals following the Altnagelvin outbreak.

Mr Poots also announced today that taps in all neonatal units in the region would be replaced.

The North’s chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride wrote to trusts in the wake of the Altnagelvin incident reminding them of the importance of infection control measures – however the letter did not mention the fact a baby had died.

The Belfast trust has said it fully complied with the guidance that was issued.