By Aileen Robertson

A FIFE couple who lost their elderly cousin to the MRSA superbug have condemned standards of cleanliness at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.

Anne and Alan McAllister, of Dunfermline, also claim the hospital tried to cover up the fact that 82-year-old Molly Paterson was suffering from the infectious disease, which they only found out about after the registrar read the death certificate.

Despite being elderly, Ms Paterson had been a lively, sociable woman until she was taken into hospital in December with a urine infection and irritable bowels.

She spent the next five months in and out of hospital, during which time her condition did nothing but deteriorate, according to Mr and Mrs McAllister.

The couple feel their cousin’s life was cut short because of fundamental lapses in cleanliness at Queen Margaret, and have written a formal letter of complaint to NHS Fife.

They believe the hospital knew Ms Paterson had the bug, but did not follow the correct procedure to stop it spreading.

Mrs McAllister said, “Another relative visiting Molly was asked to put on a plastic pinny and gloves. The minister was visiting at the same time and had to do the same. He asked if Molly was having chemotherapy because she had lost her hair.”

On other occasions when Mr and Mrs McAllister visited they were not told to take the same precautions. However, the incident led them to believe Ms Paterson had a serious infection.

Ms Paterson also had a sore, which Mrs McAllister believes was linked to MRSA.

She said, “I was shocked when nurses showed me a sore on her back. By the time she was moved to a nursing home in April it had grown and gave off a terrible smell when it was being treated.

“The sore was so big you could have put your fist in it. That’s when alarm bells started ringing and I was sure she had a superbug.”

When Ms Paterson died, the couple did not get to see the body and the death certificate was sealed in an envelope.

Mrs McAllister continued, “The first time we found out about MRSA being the cause of death was when the registrar read the certificate and asked us about it. She said she had to report it to the Procurator Fiscal.

“I told the registrar that I had known all along and was so upset I walked out. We knew there was something wrong but couldn’t get any information from the hospital.”

Mr McAllister said the problem of superbugs will never be contained unless health bosses draw up stricter rules for hospital hygiene.

He said, “The hygiene observed by some nurses and doctors leaves a lot to be desired. And some of the staff had no people skills at all.”

His wife added, “Molly’s death was so sudden. She had the odd thing wrong, but nothing serious.”

NHS Fife issued the following statement: “This is obviously a very sad time for the family concerned and we sympathise with their loss. The matter is currently being investigated under the formal NHS complaints’ procedure. A thorough investigation will take place and the outcome will be directly communicated to the family.”