Medics at a scandal-hit hospital failed to tell a widow about a rare infection her husband had before he lost his battle with cancer. Maureen Dynes wants answers over why health bosses kept husband Tony’s condition a secret and questioned if it contributed to his death.
The 53-year-old childminder lost her husband of 29 years in 2021 at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The mum of two said: “Only a post-mortem could have shown if these infections contributed to his death but we didn’t know about them. Now it’s too late. .
“I just want answers. If the hospital was safe when it opened people would not have died. If they had learned from previous infections Tony might still be alive.
“I don’t even know now if his treatment did work and he deteriorated due to these infections. I don’t know why I wasn’t told. He’s missed so much –walking his daughter down the aisle, seeing his son get married.”
In September 2020, Tony, 63, who had lymphoma, was in the QEUH for a stem cell transplant when he became infected with Aspergillus – a mould found in the environment which can be fatal in people with severely low immune systems. Unknown to the couple, on a second stay in 2021 he also contracted Stenotrophomans maltophilia – a bacteria linked to the water system.
She said: “They mentioned Aspergillus but I was told it was ‘just an infection’. After Tony got out he had a cough due to the infection. The cough continued until he died.”
They found out in February 2021 the transplant hadn’t worked and they could try Car T-Cell therapy as a last-ditch bid to save Tony’s life. He went back to ward 4B in March 2021.
Maureen said: “I was worried as Tony was still coughing and asked if it could impact his treatment. A test in April 2021 showed he still had Aspergillus but next time I asked I was told he didn’t.”
Tony had the Car T-Cell therapy and began to improve. He was preparing to go home but Maureen said: “Something wasn’t right. His eyes had lost their sparkle, he wasn’t himself. Two days later they told me the treatment hadn’t worked.”
Tony died the next day – Friday May 21, 2021. Maureen then heard a TV interview with Louise Slorance, whose husband Andrew was in the same ward around the same time as Tony and had also contracted Aspergillus.
She requested Tony’s medical notes and only then saw the positive test for Stenotrophomans maltophilia. She found emails showing medics knew he had it the week before he died after testing his Hickman line – a tube used to give meds.
Four years earlier Milly Main, 10, had the same infection at the QEUH campus. Mum Kimberly only found out it was linked to her death from her death certificate. A review found it was likely linked to the hospital environment.
Maureen said: “They didn’t tell us about problems with the ventilation or water. They said only drink bottled water, just as a precaution. I don’t know if Tony brushed his teeth with tap water. I imagine he showered and his dentures needed to be soaked – was that in tap water?”
Maureen and Louise support each other. Maureen said: “We are bonded by something we never thought could happen.”
Offering its sympathies “to families who have lost loved ones in our care”, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde added: “We’ll continue to support the inquiry”.
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