Retired nurse Beverley Sowah, 57, and mother-of-five Enid Heap, 84, were given the sandwiches on successive days while patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary..
Beverley Soway and Enid Heap were given chicken sandwiches over two days. The patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary died within days of eating the foodListeria in pre-packed chicken mayonnaise sandwiches was a ‘more than minimal’ cause of the deaths of two hospital patients during a deadly 2019 outbreak, an inquest jury concluded today.
Retired nurse Beverley Sowah, 57, pictured, died after eating a chicken sandwich while undergoing treatment at Manchester Royal Infirmary The scandal over potentially deadly listeria in pre-packed hospital sandwiches in 2019 saw nine patients infected, with seven dying. Sodexo, the catering contractor at Manchester Royal Infirmary – where both women were being treated – was also found to kept sandwiches at safe, chilled temperatures.The 2019 outbreak sparked a public outcry, with the Mail revealing that food safety experts had warned three years earlier that hospitals were risking patients’ lives by serving them pre-packed sandwiches.
In response, then Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons he had ordered a ‘root and branch’ review of food served within NHS hospitals. Among a string of recommendations highlighting how serving good quality food can boost hospital patients’ recovery, it said all NHS trusts should have someone at board level responsible for food safety lead to ensure hygiene standards.
Most people who eat food contaminated with listeria develop mild flu-like symptoms that pass within a few days. However storing foods below 5C and discarding uneaten produce before its use-by date – three days in the case of pre-packed sandwiches – should prevent listeria reaching harmful levels. Listeria is most commonly spread in pre-packaged sandwiches and other chilled food, and is widespread in the environment, including in food production businesses.
Advertisement Retired pharmacy assistant, Enid Heap, 84, had been suffering from lung disease when she was admitted onto a different ward at the hospital on March 25, 2019. It supplied 43 NHS trusts, all of which were told to stop serving its products to patients on May 24. She was rushed to her local hospital in Tunbridge Wells on June 2 after becoming uncommunicative, testing positive for listeria and dying on July 17.
The ‘primary hypothesis’ was that pre-packed sandwiches were to blame, but it was not until May 16 that lab results established both women had become infected by the same source. Tests carried out by environmental health officers at both plants found evidence of listeria, the inquest heard – but none matching the strain which had infected Mrs Sowah and Mrs Heap.
With the contaminated sandwiches long since eaten or discarded, this was the only evidence definitively linking NCQF to the fatal outbreak. Environmental health officer Emma Norman was asked by Mrs Heap’s son Alistair whether the discovery of listeria at NCQF indicated ‘failures’ in cleanliness. The inquest heard that the batches of sandwiches eaten by Mrs Heap and Mrs Sowah were checked on arrival by hospital catering contractors Sodexo and found to be under 5C.
As a result, coroner Zak Golombeck told jurors there was an ‘insufficiency of evidence’ for them to make a finding that breaches in the food supply chain contributed to Mrs Sowah and Mrs Heap becoming infected. But he welcomed the ‘comprehensive understanding’ of the circumstances leading up to the tragedy which the inquest had provided.
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