The North's health minister Edwin Poots has ordered a “full, rigorous and independent investigation” into the outbreak of the pseudomonas infection that claimed the lives of four babies in Belfast and Derry hospitals since December.
The investigation will be chaired by Professor Patricia Ann Troop, former chief executive of the Health Protection Agency in England, Mr Poots said in a detailed statement to the Northern Assembly today.
"We have a responsibility to learn from this tragedy and to share that learning across the UK and Republic of Ireland. We owe it to the parents and we owe it to the memory of the babies that died," said Mr Poots.
Three babies died in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Belfast this month while a fourth baby died in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry last month. One baby recovered from pseudomonas but died later from unrelated causes at the Royal. Mr Poots said three other babies being treated for pseudomonas contracted at the Royal were "progressing well."
"I want to emphasise again that the pseudomonas infections in the Royal and Altnagelvin were different strains," added the Minister. "These are two separate incidents and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that a baby from Altnagelvin could have introduced pseudomonas infection to the Royal."
Mr Poots said there have been no new cases of pseudomonas infection in the Royal, or in the neo-natal units of any other Northern Ireland hospital in the past week. The number of babies who were associated with the Royal and who had the pseudomonas infection on their skin but did not have the infection also remained at seven.
There were six babies who had the bacteria on their skin but were not associated with the Royal outbreak: two in Altnagelvin, three in Craigavon Area Hospital and one in Antrim Area Hospital.
Water taps at the Royal were judged to be the source of infection. Mr Poots gave instructions to replace all the taps in the neo-natal unit of the hospital and has since ordered that taps in all neo-natal units of Northern Ireland hospitals be replaced.
"My first priority is to ensure the safety of all babies in our neo-natal units and I must be absolutely certain that whatever we do is the right thing to do. It must be based on the best available scientific evidence," he said.
The Minister said that pseudomonas was a very difficult organism to eradicate completely and permanently. He was also conscious of the grief of the parents and knew they wanted answers.
"There is no single, simple 'quick fix' for this situation," he said. "While we need to move swiftly and decisively, we must be sure we do the right things. I am leaving no stone unturned in my quest to reduce the risk of pseudomonas infection in neo-natal units. That is what parents and the public expect and I have directed that this continues to be our approach. "
"I need to know what happened, why it happened, and what we now need to do to minimise the risk of this happening again," added Mr Poots.
