The father of a woman whose death is being investigated by prosecutors said a health board was \u00ab\u00a0warned for years\u00a0\u00bb about issues with a major hospital’s water system that it has now admitted probably caused infections in child cancer patients.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry it has now admitted \u00ab\u00a0on the balance of probabilities\u00a0\u00bb, that there was a \u00ab\u00a0causal connection\u00a0\u00bb between some infections and the hospital environment.<\/p>\n
Molly’s father, John, told BBC Scotland News the statement was \u00ab\u00a0overdue recognition\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
He added: \u00ab\u00a0Molly’s words and experience must continue to echo beyond her lifetime.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for NHSGGC said it was supporting the inquiry while the Scottish government said it would be \u00ab\u00a0inappropriate to comment\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Those included 10-year-old Milly Main, who died after contracting the stenotrophomonas bacteria while undergoing treatment for leukaemia in 2017.<\/p>\n
A separate corporate homicide investigation into the deaths of Milly, two other children and 73-year-old Gail Armstrong was launched in 2021.<\/p>\n
And last year prosecutors opened an investigation into Molly’s death after it was reported by a consultant.<\/p>\n
Molly, from Gourock, Inverclyde, was 15 when she was diagnosed with metastatic Ewing sarcoma.<\/p>\n
In 2024 she told BBC Scotland News how she knew something was wrong when the radiographer started crying during her scan.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cuddihy added: \u00ab\u00a0The sad thing is Molly is in her grave and she never got to read the words or hear what they had to say.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry will this week hear oral submissions and Cuddihy hopes patients will be at the heart of the proceedings.<\/p>\n
He said: \u00ab\u00a0What I would like going forward is that Molly’s voice and the voices of those other children will influence real change.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Cuddihy said this would include annual, validated checks to hospital ventilation and water systems.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She also had to undergo a kidney transplant in November 2024.<\/p>\n
Taken together this meant the treatment options after Molly’s final admission to hospital last July were limited.<\/p>\n
Cuddihy said: \u00ab\u00a0The trauma just continued long after the cancer had gone.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Because 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.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Her quality of life was reduced and it had a devastating impact on her.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I am in no doubt that Molly’s quality of life was further eroded as a result of the bacteria. Absolutely no doubt.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Visibly emotional, Cuddihy added: \u00ab\u00a0Had 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.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0And that’s a hard thing to take. We will never know.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
In 2022 Molly gave evidence before the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry about her experiences at the QEUH while undergoing chemotherapy as a teenager.<\/p>\n
The inquiry is also investigating issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He also hopes the health board’s admission mark a \u00ab\u00a0turning point in culture, governance and accountability across NHS Scotland\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Cuddihy said: \u00ab\u00a0Nothing will bring Molly back.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Our 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.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
In a closing statement to the Inquiry, NHSGGC said it had been \u00ab\u00a0broadly acknowledged\u00a0\u00bb there was no \u00ab\u00a0definite link between infections and the water system\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
But it said it was \u00ab\u00a0more likely than not\u00a0\u00bb some infections suffered by patients were connected to the hospital’s water supply.<\/p>\n
They said: \u00ab\u00a0NHSGGC 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.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Asked about the closing statement, a spokesperson for NHSGGC said: \u00ab\u00a0We remain fully committed to supporting the Inquiry in its investigations.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
A Scottish government spokesperson said: \u00ab\u00a0We 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.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0As 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.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Milly Main had a successful stem cell transplant in July 2017 while in remission from leukaemia.<\/p>\n
Her Hickman line, a catheter used to administer drugs, later became infected.<\/p>\n
Milly’s condition deteriorated and she went into toxic shock. She died on 31 August 2017.<\/p>\n
Her mother, Kimberly Darroch, welcomed the admission from NHSGGC, but said it should have come much earlier for the families involved.<\/p>\n
Darroch told BBC Scotland News: \u00ab\u00a0As a mother, I’ve spent six years fighting for answers that should have been given at the very beginning.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It 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.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0This 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\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Patrick McGuire, a senior partner at Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, represents many of the families affected.<\/p>\n
He accused the health board of \u00ab\u00a0callous evasion and dishonesty\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The solicitor added: \u00ab\u00a0The families have now been vindicated but only after years of being denigrated and dismissed by the health board.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Opposition politicians said the Scottish government had questions to answer.<\/p>\n
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: \u00ab\u00a0The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Since the hospital opened, there has been a litany of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures, and infections that devastated families.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Sarwar said families had been forced to \u00ab\u00a0fight for the truth\u00a0\u00bb about what happened to their children and added the health board’s admission \u00ab\u00a0should be a turning point\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
And Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said there was evidence of \u00ab\u00a0a cover-up at the very top.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
He said: \u00ab\u00a0There 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.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Families like those of Milly Main, Molly Cuddihy and many others have waited years to get straight answers from those responsible.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Those are now being extracted rather than freely given.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The father of a woman whose death is being investigated by prosecutors said a health board was \u00ab\u00a0warned for years\u00a0\u00bb 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9668","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}