Patients moved from Lanarkshire hospital ward after fungus found

A potentially harmful bug has been detected during planned work to upgrade ventilators on ward 16 at University Hospital Monklands

Patients are to be moved from a haematology ward at a hospital in North Lanarkshire after traces of aspergillus were found in the ventilation system.

Traces of the fungus were identified during planned work to upgrade ventilators on ward 16 at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie.

The "vulnerable" patients, who have blood diseases, have been given anti-fungal medication as a precaution.

Portable HEPA filters have been brought in until the patients can be moved.

NHS Lanarkshire said they would be moved to another ward at the hospital and work on the ventilation system would continue when the ward was empty.

None of the patients have shown signs or symptoms of aspergillosis, the health board confirmed.

Aspergillus is a common mould that lives indoors and outdoors and does not present a risk to most people. However, breathing in the spores can cause dangerous infections in people with weakened immune systems or lung diseases.

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A spokesperson for NHS Lanarkshire said: "The patients in this ward are vulnerable so we have taken the decision to move these patients out of ward 16, to allow us to complete the ongoing upgrading of the ventilation system in an empty ward, and move into our oncology outpatient ward."

Work now needs to be done on ward 15 - where cancer outpatients are normally treated - before patients from ward 16 can be moved into it.

Arrangements are being made for the cancer patients to be treated on an outpatient ward at University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride instead.

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 to provide the safest environment we can for some of our most vulnerable patients."

She added that "all standard infection prevention and control measures" were in place "to keep patients and staff safe".