MEDICS at a scandal-hit superhospital refused to let a priest baptise a critically-ill baby with tap water later linked to patient deaths.
Frantic staff scrambled to find a sterile solution for Sophia Smith’s blessing before she passed away aged just 12 days at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University campus.
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Theresa and Matthew Smith were told they would “have to go fast” to christen baby Sophia
Sophia’s loved ones say were told the hospital’s issue with water had been an “isolated case”Credit: Alamy
Her devastated mum Theresa Smith, 45, said staff at a scandal-hit superhospital were shouting at each other as the clergyman tried to bless her little girl Sophia before she died at just 12 days old.
Newborn Sophia had been rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth University campus in Glasgow with breathing difficulties and was placed in a medically induced coma.
Theresa and husband Matthew, 55, were later told they would “have to go fast” to christen her ahead of a heart and lung bypass which was described as the “last roll of the dice” for the gravely ill tot.
The family’s heartache unfolded in April 2017 — two years after the opening of the £842million hub.
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Health chiefs have since admitted problems with its water and ventilation probably caused infections that killed a string of patients, including kids.
Grieving Theresa, from Greenock, told The Scottish Sun: “I think about Sophia 300 times a day.
“My baby died in my arms — the first time I had ever held her.
“We had no idea how Sophia went from getting home to dying.
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“We eventually found out she had a hospital-acquired infection which ate her insides out.
“I was told the new campus was the likes we haven’t seen before in this country.
“They were right — but not for the reasons they thought.
“Taking her there was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Recalling her daughter’s chaotic christening, she told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry: “The priest wanted water to bless but was told he couldn’t have any from the tap.
“Staff were jumping over the top of each other going, ‘Water, where can we get water?’ and shouting across the ward, ‘Have you got a bottle of water?’
“I was thinking at the time, this is a multi-million-pound, brand new unit. Just get some water, it’s not that difficult.
“Staff were shouting that we needed to hurry this up.
“I was stressed because someone’s shouting to hurry up and get this done, and someone else is telling you they haven’t got the water.
“Eventually we got a pot of sterile saline water and she was baptised with that really, really quickly. It was just, ‘Father, Son, Holy Spirit — done. Go.’”
A fatal accident probe last October concluded the tot had died from a toxic MRSA strain not related to the QEUH.
However, just four months later hospital bosses finally admitted a link between deadly bugs and its water system.
Sophia’s loved ones say were told the hospital’s issue with water had been an “isolated case” which had “never happened before”.
But neonatal unit consultant Dr Jonathan Coutts told the inquiry water fountains had been removed amid fears they could harbour bacteria which can cause serratia marcescens — which killed another premature baby at the unit in 2015.
Surgeons resorted to washing their hands with bottled liquid in a bid to avoid deadly infections.
And staff were also ordered not to wash or shower patients — who were told not to drink from taps — while medics feared tainted water could be fatal.
Some 84 children were struck by 118 infections in the four years after the QEUH’s launch in April 2015.
But records unearthed by the Scottish Sun show that water hygiene experts DMA Canyon raised serious concerns after site visits as early as winter 2014.
A report by the firm found construction debris in storage tanks, stagnant pipes that led nowhere, and filters being bypassed.
Clinicians also later repeatedly voiced concerns over bugs, especially on wards where patients had weakened immune systems.
SNP chiefs including First Minister John Swinney have since denied NHS chiefs were pressured to open the campus — built to replace four ailing hospitals across Glasgow — before it was ready.
John Cuddihy has spent a decade seeking answers after his daughter Molly died at QEUHCredit: John Cuddihy
Caleb Stirrat contracted repeat infections and meningitis during brain cancer treatment at QEUHCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
Professor John Cuddihy, 60, from Gourock, Renfrewshire, has spent a decade seeking answers over the cause of infections after his daughter Molly became ill while undergoing bone cancer treatment.
She died in August aged 23 after first being treated at the hospital aged 15 then going on to raise more than £300,000 for patients.
Prof Cuddihy said: “I was powerless to treat my wee girl’s cancer but I could try and find out the cause of the children’s infections. I found out Molly’s was caused by a bacteria so rare it had only been evidenced four times in ten years.
“It’s extremely difficult to grow it in a laboratory but was found on her ward when she moved and for years after.”
Shocking evidence given to the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry revealed problems were repeatedly flagged, prompting supposed deep cleans, repairs and water bans.
DAMNING EVIDENCE
By Chris Taylor
THE inquiry heard damning evidence of design and build flaws at hospitals.
Repeated concerns of staff and families were ignored — alongside expert survey reports on key environmental systems.
A told of 186 witnesses told probe chair Lord Brodie of challenges at the QEUH in Glasgow and Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde pressed ahead with opening its hospital despite warnings over plumbing and ventilation systems.
Bosses finally admitted a “casual link” between the QEUH in January — five years after the £30million inquiry began.
Many people believe they will never know the absolute truth of what went on at both sites.
Lord Brodie is expected to issue his findings later this year.
Suspicious workers had also been warning families to steer clear.
Bulky tap filters prevented medics from carrying out proper cleansing and were found to have been removed from some outlets.
Karen Stirrat, 40, of Clydebank, near Glasgow, said her son Caleb, 10, contracted repeat infections and meningitis during brain cancer treatment.
She said: “The hospital was often dirty when we were there and there was no way of keeping immunocompromised kids away from other patients and visitors.
“There would be terrible smells of sewage and my son got multiple infections and meningitis.
“It was like a third world country. I call it the shanty town.”
Ventilation experts found particles were being drawn from toilets and cleaner stores and sent on to floors.
Condensation from ceiling “chiller beams” used to cool rooms dripped like it was “raining” and sent black “muck” onto beds and medical kit.
Specialist filters were missing and fungus from pigeon droppings circulated indoors after birds gathered near plant machinery.
Blood cancer patient Gail Armstrong, 73, of King’s Park, Glasgow, died after contracting a bug linked to bird droppings in January 2019.
A corporate homicide probe into the pensioner’s death and those of three kids was launched five years ago.
The passings of Andrew Slorance, 49, and Tony Dynes, 63, are also being examined.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “What these families want and deserve is truth, justice and answers.”
Tory shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane weighed in: “After years of cover-up, denial and undermining whistleblowers, families don’t have the answers they need.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said “comprehensive” remediation works have taken place at the site with “thorough testing” of the water and ventilation systems.
A spokesman added: “We are sorry for the distress caused.”
The Scottish Government said: “Our priority is to ensure full confidence in the safety of facilities and the environment within Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children.”