Hannah Rodger, Sunday Mail chief reporter, revealed today that three more patients contracted pigeon poo fungus and pest control teams were called frequently to deal with vermin
More sickening images which reveal the level of filth at the controversial Queen Elizabeth University Hospital show areas caked in pigeon droppings, infestations of insects and rotting cleaning sponges dumped in a water tank.
The campus has been plagued with infections scandals since it opened in 2015 and is at the centre of a judge-led public inquiry where the scale of dirt emerged into the public domain for the first time.
Documents published by the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry looking into the QEUH’s construction reveal how:
- THREE more patients contracted infections from bird droppings but health chiefs dismissed the cases and claimed they’re not linked to the hospital’s pigeon problem.
- ROTTING sponges and debris were found inside water tanks servicing the hospital and environmental credentials took precedence over safety when the facility was built.
“These images are absolutely revolting and would be shameful anywhere but to see they are of the conditions at Scotland’s flagship hospital is even more damning.
“Every revelation about QEUH adds up to a deeply disturbing picture yet the Health Board leadership has continually attempted to frustrate the process to shed light on this scandal.
“Patients should be able to enter a hospital knowing they are entering a hygienic environment where they have the best chance of recovery, not somewhere plagued with flies, pigeons and other vermin.”
In November The Sunday Mail revealed that the Health Board was named as a suspect in a corporate homicide probe into four deaths at QEUH, which is still ongoing. That could see senior staff being prosecuted and/or the health board fined if found guilty.
Read Democrat editor Bill Heaney’s Notebook on this matter.