Mother was told by doctor that her cancer-stricken son, eight, was 'safer' at ...

A doctor who is being investigated over child deaths told a mother that her eight-year-old son, who had cancer, was safer at home than in a hospital, an inquiry heard.

Denise Gallagher's son was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was eight years old and he was treated at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow between May 2018 and March 2020.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry heard that at the start of his treatment his parents were told he needed to be put on preventative antibiotics.

His treatment with the medicines, which included posaconazole, was discussed at a discharge meeting with a doctor in ward 2A in the children's cancer unit at the RHC on the QEUH campus.

Mrs Gallagher told the inquiry: 'At the start we were told he needed to have antibiotic cover for infection, that was the general gist of it, maybe hospital-acquired or just in general skin infections, anything like that.

'The discussion about the posaconazole was when he was getting discharged after his first cycle of chemotherapy, (the female doctor) was going through his kardex (medical file).

'She said one medicine he wouldn't get because it's IV only but he would not need the posaconazole because he is not here, he is safer at home.'

She added: 'She said he is not here and he is going home, he is safer.'

The inquiry is investigating the construction of the QEUH campus after issues at the flagship site were linked to the deaths of two children.

It is also examining the construction of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh.

The inquiry was ordered after patients at the Glasgow hospital died from infections linked to pigeon droppings and the water supply, and the opening of the Edinburgh site was delayed due to concerns over the ventilation system.

Mrs Gallagher's son was due to have a bone marrow transplant in September 2018, after a suitable donor was found, however, it was delayed after he developed an infection which may have been linked to the hospital environment.

The boy complained of a sore stomach during his second cycle of chemotherapy and it was feared he might have appendicitis.

He underwent surgery to remove his appendix, however, the appendix did not appear to be infected and his parents were told he, in fact, had an infection referred to as 'steno'.