The grieving daughters of a woman who died after contracting a bug linked to pigeon droppings have urged the NHS to come clean on the safety of Glasgow’s superhospital.

Sandie and Beth Armstrong’s mother Gail was being treated for blood cancer when she died in January 2019 at the £1 billion Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH).

The 73-year-old grandmother, from Glasgow, contracted cryptococcus – a bacteria linked to pigeon faeces – while in ward 4C.

Her daughters said NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde classes 4C as a general ward, meaning it has lower ventilation rates than those recommended for people with severely suppressed immune systems. The sisters fear other vulnerable patients now on so-called general wards are not being properly protected.

It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed that NHS bosses were planning to rebuild specialist cancer ward 4B, as the ventilation system didn’t meet regulations and there had been concerns about mould, water leaks and fungal infections.

Sandie said: ‘The ward our mum was in, 4C, was described as a general ward when in fact it is accommodating severely immunocompromised patients.'

She said she feared wards which have similarly vulnerable patients 'do not have the correct ventilation levels' to protect them, with air change rates falling far below the recommended 10 per hour for immunocompromised people when they are being classed as 'general' wards. The sisters feel some wards are wrongly categorised. 

She added: ‘I don’t think the people realise there are regulations for mechanically ventilated hospital buildings and the QEUH doesn’t meet them.'

Beth added: ‘There was a decision at the design stage to derogate from those regulations, so most of the hospital has a ventilation system at the same standard as a library or a supermarket. When you have no immune system that’s a serious problem, particularly if there are water leaks, or pigeons roosting.’

‘There are minimum guidelines for hospitals, and we expect the hospital to meet them. That's the bottom line. You have to make the hospital compliant.

‘We know that to rip out a ventilation system, a water system and replace them will require closure of the hospital, that it can't be done piece by piece. We know that's what we're saying. But what is the alternative?’

Last year, the lawyers working for the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is looking into the troubled site, recommended that health bosses urgently risk-assess general wards and ‘acknowledge the risk of airborne infections to immunocompromised patients accommodated in general wards…when specialist wards are not available to them.’ 

An NHSGGC spokesman said: ‘Our sincere sympathies remain with Gail Armstrong’s family.

‘To ensure our hospitals provide a safe environment for our patients, we have put in place a robust system of maintenance, sampling and monitoring, and full governance systems are in place to review and challenge as an additional layer of assurance.’