A hospital trust has admitted failing to provide safe care to a man who died after using a contaminated shower while undergoing chemotherapy. Chris Elliot, 59, a father of two, died a fortnight after being admitted to Cheltenham General Hospital for leukaemia treatment.
The bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa had been found on a shower head in Elliot's room more than a week before his admission, but no action was taken, a court heard. His widow, Victoria Elliot, accused Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust of systemic failings, saying the family had to uncover what happened and criticizing the trust for delaying admitting liability.
In a victim personal statement, Victoria Elliot said her husband's death left "a chasm" in their lives and that he was treated with "a mixture of arrogance, incompetence and a cavalier attitude to his safety." She described his weakened immune system making him a "sitting duck," adding: "Chris had absolutely no chance of survival, showering every day in his isolation room in a lethal dose of bacteria."
The trust admitted failing to provide safe care and treatment, a criminal offense under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and was fined £300,000. Victoria Elliot called the sum derisory. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) brought the prosecution.
James Marsland, for the CQC, said the bacteria was confirmed on a shower head in a side room at the Rendcomb ward on August 1, 2022. Testing and sampling had been delegated to Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS), owned by the trust, but there was "no independent evidence" that GMS took action. It did not report to the ward manager or infection prevention team. The room and shower head remained in use.
Marsland said the trust's oversight of GMS was insufficient, and the trust's water safety group failed to meet for nine months when it should have met every three. Elliot was admitted on August 9, 2022, allocated the contaminated room, became infected, and died on August 23. Marsland said it was "highly likely" the infection caused his death.
Paul Greaney KC, for the trust, apologized to the family, stating that if GMS had reported the contamination, the shower head would have been taken out of use. District Judge Wattam said the trust was remorseful and had taken remedial action after Elliot's death.
