A newborn baby died from an infection caused by an “absolutely putrid hospital”, her mother has told an inquiry into her death.
Sophia Smith was just 11 days old when she died at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow on 11 April 2017.
She had become ill with an infection similar to MRSA and developed sepsis.
A fatal accident inquiry into her death was announced earlier this year and began on Monday.
Sophia was born at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, but was transferred to the RHC after she experienced difficulty breathing, as well as a potential heart issue.
She was placed in an incubator with one-on-one nursing care and a “raft of machinery”.
Despite initially seeing a “massive improvement”, on 10 April her health suddenly deteriorated.
The inquiry heard she turned an “ashen” colour and by the following day her lower body had turned “coal black”. She had suffered “massive” bleeding on her lung, and died in the evening.
‘That absolutely putrid hospital killed her’
Samples taken the day before and day of her death both tested positive for staphylococcus aureus (SA), which was later confirmed as PVL-MSSA.
The inquiry heard this bacterium can cause serious infection if it gets into the body, such as through medical lines and catheters.
Giving evidence, Theresa Smith said she had endured “eight years of absolute hell” since her daughter’s death.
She added: “She’s dead. I live every day of my life knowing she’s dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused an infection in my child and killed her.
“And when it killed her it killed me too. I want to know what happened.”
She also questioned how, despite one-to-one care, hospital staff failed to spot the infection, or see the “rapid deterioration” in her baby.
‘Just bad luck’
Her husband, Matthew, said they struggled to get answers after Sophia’s death.
“Stonewalling, the missing of documents when requested, the fight to have meetings arranged,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s having to be the ones who are pushing it forward for more information.”
Staff told them they “didn’t know where she got the infection from”.
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“Dr (Jonathan) Coutts said he had never seen it before, and when pressed he said it was just bad luck,” he said.
An inspection of the hospital the year before had not identified any infection issues, but the NICU was not inspected. A further inspection in January 2019 did look at the NICU but did not focus on insertable lines.
In 2021, the case was transferred to the Health and Safety Investigations Unit to be considered alongside, and as part of, an ongoing investigation into four deaths at QEUH as a result of infections linked to the built environment of the hospital.
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However, the investigation found “no evidence” Sophia’s infection was linked to those other infections.
The inquiry continues.
