Patient who overcame leukaemia killed by a dirty hospital shower
A father of three died after he contracted an infection from a hospital shower on the day that he was due to be discharged after successful treatment for leukaemia.
The hospital had failed for many years to act on guidance about the safety of its ageing hot water system, a court was told. The failure led to Daryl Eyles, 37, contracting legionnaires’ disease from a dirty shower head. He had just been told that he was in complete remission after enduring months of chemotherapy.
At Bath Magistrates’ Court, the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath admitted two charges of failing to act on safety warnings.
Jennifer Gunning, chairwoman of the bench, said: “Guidance was available for more than ten years, but this was blatantly not followed. The RUH management was inadequate. Mr Eyles died as a result of those failings and many other vulnerable patients were put at risk.”
Referring the case to Bristol Crown Court for sentencing, she said: “We believe this to be so serious that our sentencing powers are not sufficient.”
Mr Eyles, a security guard at Bath University, had leukaemia diagnosed in August 2003 after developing a painful abscess while on holiday in Cyprus. The cancer went into remission after his first course of chemotherapy, but he was told that he needed two more sessions to make sure that it did not come back. He spent Christmas at home with his family before returning to the hospital for his final session in January 2004.
His wife, Andrea, 31, had previously told how her husband was desparate to get home and had tried to discharge himself early but was advised to wait a few days.
She said: “I saw him after he finished his chemotherapy and he just wanted to come home. He felt fine and was looking forward to getting back to work.
“He said he had more chance of catching something in hospital than he did at home, but the doctors advised him to stay in hospital.”
On February 7 Mr Eyles took a shower at the William Budd Oncology Unit, where he was being treated. He became ill and was prescribed antibiotics, but they failed to prevent his death a week later.
Doctors initially told Mrs Eyles that her husband had died of pneumonia and septicaemia. She discovered the true cause only after taking legal action. An investigation found that the shower head was contaminated with Legionella bacteria. She said: “I just wanted to know the truth about what happened and I’m furious that it took legal action to get it.”
The couple, from Bath, had two children: Georgina, 10, and Mitchell, 8. Daryl also had a son, Christopher, 14, from a previous relationship.
After the hearing Mark Davies, the chief executive of the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, said: “The RUH took this incident extremely seriously and we have learnt from this very sad case.
“We were all shocked by the sudden death of Daryl Eyles in February 2004. The trust accepted liability in October 2004 and has since reached a settlement in response to the family’s claim. At the time the trust fully cooperated with the Health and Safety Executive and has complied with all its recommendations to minimise further risk of Legionella.”
The hospital trust will be sentenced on March 29.
Legionnaires’ disease
* Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia
* It was identified after an outbreak at an American Legion meeting in 1976
* Middle-aged and elderly people are the most vulnerable
* About half the cases diagnosed in Britain are contracted abroad
* The Legionella pneumophila bacterium is inhaled in water droplets
* Cooling towers and air-conditioning systems are the source of most outbreaks in Britain
* The symptoms are similar to flu: fever, muscle pains, cough, diarrhoea
* The risk can be cut by maintenance and cleaning
* Most people exposed to the bacterium do not become ill
Source: Health and Safety Executive
From The Times
Simon de Bruxelles
March 22, 2007
