PATIENTS have been moved from University Hospital Monklands (UHM) following the discovery of a potential deadly fungus.
NHS Lanarkshire have confirmed that traces of aspergillus have been identified during a programme of upgrades to the ventilation system in the hospital's haematology ward.
Due to the vulnerability of patients in the affected ward, NHS Lanarkshire have taken the decision to move the patients to allow them to complete the ongoing upgrading of the ventilation system in an empty ward, and move into their oncology outpatient ward.
Outpatients from the oncology ward will be relocated and attend their oncology outpatient unit at University Hospital Hairmyres for a time period before relocating back to UHM for the remaining time of the haematology ward being ready for their inpatient service to return.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon rules out fracking in Scotland
NHS Lanarkshire say they have taken a number of precautionary measures in the oncology ward by introducing portable HEPA filters and prescribing anti-fungal medication (prophylactic) for those patients not already being prescribed anti-fungal medication, anti-fungal medication is often prescribing for patients whose immune system is compromised.
None of the patients are showing any signs or symptoms of aspergillosis.
Lynn Mack, NHS Lanarkshire Cancer Services Manager, said: “As soon as aspergillus was identified we took active steps to carry out further testing and identify the necessary steps we needed to take to allow us provide the safest environment we can for some of our most vulnerable patients.
“NHS Lanarkshire follows the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (ARHAI) Scotland guidance and all standard infection prevention and control measures are in place to keep patients and staff safe.”
Aspergillus is a common mould, a type of fungus, that lives indoors and outdoors. Most people breathe in aspergillus spores every day without getting sick. However, people with weakened immune systems or lung diseases are at a higher risk of developing health problems due to aspergillus.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here