Newborn who died from contaminated hospital drip was just nine days old it emerges as total number of babies seriously ill from the rogue batch has risen to 18



Nine-day-old Yousef Al-Kharboush named as baby who died in London

He was among the babies infected by a suspected bug in drip-fed food

His parents due to meet hospital chiefs today at start of review into death



17 other babies believed to be poisoned by rogue batch sent to hospitals



The cases are all believed to be linked to feed from suppliers ITH Pharma

Batches thought to be contaminated were sent to 22 hospitals in England

Investigation into contamination 'incident' at product's manufacturers

Company chief executive says she is 'deeply saddened' by the events



A nine-day-old baby died after he was poisoned by the hospital feed drip that was supposed to help save his life

Yousef Al-Kharboush contracted a deadly bacterial infection from contaminated intravenous fluid on the neonatal intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

The number of vulnerable babies made ill by the rogue batch of drips has risen to 18, with babies at nine hospitals throughout the country affected. The surviving babies are understood to be responding to treatment with antibiotics.

New tragedy: A second baby fed on a contaminated drip died today, ten days after nine-day-old Yousef Al-Kharboush died in the premature unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London

It emerged yesterday that the contaminated products supplied by London-based pharmaceutical firm ITH Pharma had been sent to a total of 22 hospitals.

Public health officials are conducting a major investigation into the devastating outbreak. ITH Pharma said there was ‘no reason’ for patients or their families to be concerned because the ‘limited number’ of batches that could have been affected had been recalled.

Southwark coroner Andrew Harris is treating Yousef’s death on Sunday as ‘unnatural’. He will today hold a special pre-inquest hearing with the baby’s parents, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust and ITH Pharma to decide whether a post-mortem examination is needed and what further steps he should take.

One new case was confirmed yesterday at Peterborough City Hospital in Cambridgeshire and two possible cases found at Southend University Hospital and Basildon University Hospital, both in Essex.

The source of contamination appears to have been traced to a ‘sourced single raw material ingredient’ from an outside supplier, according to ITH Pharma.

ITH Pharma CEO Karen Hamling and her husband Adam Bloom made a brief statement yesterday at their Park Royal production plant

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched an investigation and sent its inspectors into ITH Pharma’s plant in Park Royal, north-west London. A spokesman for the safety watchdog said a possible sanction would be a temporary suspension of the manufacturers’ licence if the problem had not been remedied. A decision is expected in the next few days.

ITH Pharma managing director Karen Hamling, 48, who runs the company with her husband Adam Bloom, 41, said yesterday: ‘As a mother, as a pharmacist, as someone who has worked for 30 years in healthcare, inside and outside the NHS, I am deeply saddened that one baby has died and others have fallen ill from septicaemia.

Upsetting: 11 hospitals in England were affected. The Rosie Hospital based at Addebrooke's in Cambridge now has three cases, a rise from the two investigators had previously linked to the contaminated drips

Officials confirmed a baby at Peterborough City Hospital has tested positive test for Bacillus cereus

A baby at Basildon Hospital in Essex has a suspected case of the bug which has not been confirmed

‘As the managing director of ITH Pharma, I want to reassure you today that we are doing everything possible to help the regulators, the MHRA, to establish exactly what has happened in this case.

‘We have instituted a recall of the limited number of batches which could potentially have been affected, and all stock has been removed from circulation.

WHERE WAS THE BABY FEED SENT?

The suspected contaminated batch of fluid had been sent to 22 hospitals, both private and NHS, across England, according to an alert on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) website.

It was sent to 10 hospitals across London including: Chelsea and Westminster, Hillingdon, The Harley Street Clinic, Homerton, King's College, The Portland, Royal Brompton, St Thomas's, St George's and the Whittington.

The suspected contaminated batch was also sent to four hospitals in East Anglia including: Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, Basildon Hospital, Peterborough Hospital and Southend Hospital.

Two affected hospitals in the West Midlands are Birmingham Heartlands and Russell's Hall Hospital in Dudley.

The suspect batch was also sent to Lister Hospital in Stevenage and Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

Royal Sussex County Hospital and St Peter's in Chertsey were also sent the potentially faulty batch.

It was also sent to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

‘Given this action, there is no reason for patients, their families or healthcare professionals to be concerned.’

But a lawyer specialising in medical products yesterday called for all liquid feed products made by ITH Pharma to be taken out of circulation until the reasons for the outbreak had been established.

Michelle Victor, a partner in the product liability team at Leigh Day, said: ‘While the investigation takes place these products should be withdrawn as the risks are too great.’ Chris Thorne, an expert on clinical negligence at Clarke Willmott solicitors, said the families involved may have grounds for a civil action.

He said: ‘The simplistic approach would be to pursue the organisation which supplied the food if it is formally identified as the source of the bacterium which caused the illness.’

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said yesterday there was ‘a lot further to go’ in ensuring patient safety. ‘The tragic blood poisoning of 18 children shows we can never take safety for granted. It also shows the importance of prompt and early identification of problems,’ he added.

In total, 160 units of the suspected contaminated batch of feed were sent to 22 hospitals.

It was sent to ten hospitals across London – Chelsea and Westminster, Hillingdon, the Harley Street Clinic, Homerton, King’s College, the Portland, Royal Brompton, St Thomas’, St George’s and the Whittington – and four in East Anglia: Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge, Basildon, Peterborough and Southend. Two affected hospitals in the West Midlands are Birmingham Heartlands and Russells Hall in Dudley, and the suspect batch was also sent to Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Chertsey’s Royal Sussex County and St Peter’s hospitals, Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.





The Whittington Hospital, London, (left) is one of the six hospitals affected by the infection. A spokesperson for the trust in charge of Brighton General Hospital (right) said all three of the babies infected in its care were responding well to treatment

The trust in charge of the Chelsea and Westminster hospital (left) has reported four cases while Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge (right) said the two babies infected in its neonatal unit have responded well to treatment



Two children were given fluid from the contaminated batch at St George’s Hospital, London, and 16 at Alder Hey, without ill effects.

None were newborns. Bacillus cereus is a bacterium found in dust, soil and vegetation.

It produces very hardy spores which in the right conditions can grow and create a toxin which causes illness, and it is likely to be on most surfaces.

Stephen Forsythe, professor of microbiology at Nottingham Trent University, said: ‘The babies would have virtually no immune system to protect them.

'This seems like a totally exceptional and unusual incident. However, unfortunately it has already had a tragic ending.’



Couple who grew rich building £15million drug firm

ITH Pharma has brought great rewards for Adam Bloom and Karen Hamling.



The married couple live in a grand £1.4 million house in a leafy suburb, having seen their pharmaceutical company’s sales grow to more than £15 million in just five years.



Their Georgian-style home in Elstree, Hertfordshire, which they bought for just over £1 million in 2007, is set well back from the street. Electric gates open on to beautifully-manicured grounds, with a wide pebble drive leading to the large whitewashed four-bedroom, three-bathroom property.



ITH Pharma's Karen Hamling, pictured with director Adam Bloom, said she was 'deeply saddened' by the death

Mr Bloom, 41, went to Leeds Grammar School before studying pharmacy at Liverpool John Moores University. Miss Hamling, 48, started out as a pharmacy assistant before completing a pharmacy degree at Brighton University. She was named Entrepreneur of the Year at an awards ceremony for London business leaders in 2013.



The couple set up ITH Pharma Ltd in 2008 with the proceeds from the sale of an earlier business.



The company specialises in producing sterile made-to-order medical products such as intravenous feed drips and chemotherapy drugs.



The firm made a post-tax profit of £547,111 on a turnover of £15.1 million in the year to March 2013, Companies House records show. It has 103 employees. The couple have evidently accumulated considerable wealth of their own as well. The accounts show they made an interest-free loan of £2.9 million to the company.



Miss Hamling spoke candidly of the dangers of not following the rules when manufacturing healthcare products in a careers advice video filmed four years ago.



She said: ‘If you step off procedure, there is sometimes no one looking over your shoulder.



‘It’s relying completely on trust, that you are going to put your hand up and say, “I have come off procedure”, and we need to actually discard that product rather than allowing it to go into circulation.’



One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said yesterday: ‘They’re just delightful people. We are completely shocked by the tragedy.’

