CHILDREN on a Queen's Medical Centre cancer ward have had to be moved because of a potentially deadly fungal bug in the ventilation system.
Tests for the bug, known as aspergillus, were carried out after two children on the ward started to display symptoms of an infection in their lungs.
Checks found that the source of the contamination was the air-conditioning system leading to the playroom on ward E39.
Worried dad Ivan Binch, 44, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, believed his daughter Ellie Ward, 2, who had been staying on the ward, had caught the infection.
"Her temperatures are spiking, she's not well and I think the way we've been kept out the loop on this is appalling.
"I'm fuming about the way we have been treated.
"And I'm worried for Ellie."
Ellie – who was moved along with eight other children to a different ward on Monday – was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in her neck in January and has just finished a course of chemotherapy.
Aspergillus can be caused by dust from construction work.
A range of building work is going on in and around the hospital, including the construction of a new tram line through the site.
The fungal bug is only a danger to people with more vulnerable immune systems.
A hospital spokesperson said the ward had been thoroughly cleaned, adding: "There is no cause for concern for any other patients or relatives and we are keeping parents informed.
"We will reopen the ward when we have confirmation there is no risk to patients."
Has your child been affected by this? E-mail newsdesk@nottinghamgroup.co.uk
