18 June 2019 - Listeria in UK hospital food claims lives
Lanarkshire hospital linked to fatal listeria outbreak in England
(BBC News, 17/06/2019)
Five people have died in an outbreak in England which is related to pre-packed food supplied to 43 NHS trusts by the Good Food Chain.
NHS Lanarkshire has confirmed Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride was one of the sites involved.
The board said products were removed immediately and no cases of listeriosis had been reported in Scotland.
University Hospital Hairmyres was previously supplied with potentially-infected sandwiches and salads from the company.
Minister orders review into hospital food after more listeria deaths
Kevin Rawlinson (The Guardian, 14/07/2019)
Two more people have died after eating pre-packaged sandwiches and salads linked to a listeria outbreak, taking the total number of deaths to five, Public Health England has said.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, ordered a review of hospital food on Friday as he came under pressure from opposition MPs, who demanded that he make a statement to parliament on the scandal.
“I have been incredibly concerned by this issue and strongly believe that we need a radical new approach to the food that is served in our NHS,” Hancock said. “Staff, patients and families deserve so much better – our NHS should be at the forefront of supporting people to make healthy choices. I have instructed the NHS to conduct a root and branch review of hospital food.”
Eight NHS hospitals hit by listeria outbreaks as Hancock signals plans to bring catering in-house
Laura Donnelly, Health Editor (The Telegraph, 17/06/2019)
Eight NHS hospitals have been hit by the listeria outbreak which has killed five patients, the Health Secretary has revealed.
Matt Hancock made the disclosures as he said he was keen to see the health service take NHS catering back in-house, in a bid to improve safety.
The Health Secretary on Monday named six NHS hospitals which have been hit by the outbreak, linked to pre-packed sandwiches and salads, as he vowed to “take the necessary steps” to restore trust in hospital food.
They include two - Leicester Royal Infirmary, and Royal Derby Hospital - in which patients have died.
Hospitals were warned of the risk of listeria from ready-made sandwiches seven years ago
Chloe Kerr (The Sun, 18/06/2019)
The Food Standards Agency backed the warning before relaxing its advice in 2016.
The U-turn is likely to come under scrutiny in the Government-backed probe into the deaths.
Five people died after contracting the bug — two of them at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
The Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust each saw one death.