Key facts
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitted failing to provide safe care to a patient who died from a bacterial infection.
- Chris Elliot, 59, died from pseudomonas aeruginosa after using a contaminated shower at Cheltenham General Hospital.
- The bacteria was detected on a shower head over a week before Elliot's admission, but no action was taken.
- The trust was fined £300,000 for the criminal offence.
- Elliot's widow criticised the trust for systemic failings and delaying admission of liability.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has admitted to failing to provide safe care to Chris Elliot, a 59-year-old father of two, who died from a pseudomonas aeruginosa infection contracted from a contaminated shower at Cheltenham General Hospital. Elliot was undergoing chemotherapy for leukaemia when he was admitted on August 9, 2022.
The bacteria had been detected on a shower head in the room Elliot used more than a week prior to his admission, on August 1, 2022. However, the company responsible for testing, Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS), which is owned by the trust, failed to report the contamination to the ward manager or the infection prevention and control team. The room and shower head remained in use.
During a hearing, Victoria Elliot, Chris Elliot's widow, accused the trust of systemic failings, arrogance, incompetence, and a cavalier attitude towards her husband's safety. She stated that his weakened immune system made him vulnerable and that he had no chance of survival due to daily showering in a lethal dose of bacteria. She also criticised the trust for delaying its admission of liability, compounding her grief and the battle to uncover the truth of his death.
The trust pleaded guilty to a criminal offence under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and was fined £300,000. Victoria Elliot described the sum as "derisory".
Paul Greaney KC, representing the trust, apologised to the family and stated that if GMS had reported the contamination, the shower would have been taken out of use. District judge Wattam acknowledged the trust's remorse and remedial actions taken following Elliot's death. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria commonly found in damp environments like taps and shower heads.