Charity fears for children after Glasgow Royal Hospital for Sick Children closes cystic fibrosis ward

THE closure of a ward at Glasgow Royal Hospital for Sick Children could lead to some patients being treated by "non-specialist nurses", a charity has said.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust said it was concerned for child patients with the condition after the "sudden closure" of ward 6b, a 22-bed respiratory and gastroenterology ward which cares for patients with chronic conditions.

These include children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) who have a particular type of infection called Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

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The charity says it is crucial that children with this infection are segregated from others with CF and that at any one time between six and 15 patients with the condition are receiving treatment on the ward. It is due to close today and the nurses redistributed around the hospital.

But NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) cited "sound reasons" for closing the ward, such as low occupancy, and said patient care would not be compromised.

Rosie Barnes, chief executive of the CF Trust, said: "We are very worried about the unexpected closure of this ward. We have heard staff were only informed last week and many parents are still unaware of the situation.

"We are particularly anxious about where these patients will now be accommodated in the hospital. CF is a very complex condition requiring a great deal of specialist care. We are concerned that they may now be treated by non-specialist nurses who have little or no experience of CF."

A spokeswoman for GCC said: "Increasingly, for both children and adults, clinical care and treatment is performed on a day case basis, resulting in fewer patients requiring to stay in hospital overnight. At the Royal Hospital for Sick Children this move towards increased day care has led to a reduction in occupancy rates, enabling us to close ward 6b."