A FRESH investigation has been launched into further infections at Glasgow's super hospital after a child died this week.

The young patient contracted a hospital-acquired infection and tragically passed away at the beginning of the week while being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH).

It is understood they had been moved between various wards at the facility before their death on Monday night.

On Wednesday, infection control experts gathered at the £842m super hospital to discuss the case and attempt to determine the source of infection.

Their investigation is still ongoing.

The Herald on Sunday can also reveal that three more hospital-acquired infection incidents have been reported to Health Protection Scotland from the adjacent Royal Hospital for Children in the last three weeks, as well as this latest one from the QEUH.

The safety watchdog refused to confirm the severity of the incidents or how many patients had been affected.

This latest tragedy has sparked even more concerns about the safety of the facility for child cancer patients, who are now being treated in ward 6A after it reopened last week.

The ward was closed down in August after three young people were struck down by bugs in a two week period while staying there.

They had been transferred there from ward 2A in the adjacent Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), which was also closed after dozens of patients contracted infections.

Politicians have now called on health secretary Jeane Freeman to make an urgent statement to Scottish parliamentarians on Tuesday, and said that patients and their parents were being badly let down.

Commenting on the investigation, Scottish Labour health spokesperson Monica Lennon MSP said: “This is tragic news and my thoughts are with the child’s family at this very sad and difficult time.

“Health Secretary Jeane Freeman must return to Parliament on Tuesday and provide an urgent update.

“The public will rightly question why a child who contracted a hospital-acquired infection has died so soon after NHSGGC insisted the hospital is safe. 

"It must be established if the infection was linked to the water contamination scandal and an independent team should be brought in.

“At the weekend, Anas Sarwar MSP and I met with a group of parents who have lost confidence in the senior management team at the hospital and the board.

“A statement released by this group of parents should leave Jeane Freeman in no doubt that families feel completely failed.

“Allowing the current leadership team to investigate themselves is not tenable. SNP Ministers took stringent action against health chiefs in Tayside over financial mismanagement; the scandal at Greater Glasgow and Clyde concerns patient safety, and a number of deaths are under investigation.

"Jeane Freeman must explain how bad it needs to get for her to take maximum action."

Miles Briggs MSP, Shadow Health Secretary said: “My thoughts and condolences are with the family at this unimaginably difficult time.

“Families need to be told the truth as to what has happened at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and from the outset that is what I have sought to achieve.

“It is clear that an urgent investigation must now proceed to establish the true facts and whether the infection developed in the hospital.

“Scottish Conservatives are demanding Jeane Freeman comes to Holyrood On Tuesday to make an urgent statement.

“Families and NHS staff have lost confidence in Jeane Freeman and SNP Ministers to provide full transparency and the leadership needed to address the crisis now engulfing Scotland’s £800 million flagship hospital.

“The crisis engulfing the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is totally unacceptable. It’s time for the First Minister to take charge and step in to demonstrate the Government are actually in control and can provide answers to the safety concerns parents and families are expressing.”

Since opening in 2015, the QEUH and RHC have faced a series of scandals including the death of a 10-year-old boy after he contracted a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings in the hospital.

Milly Main, 10, passed away in 2017 from an infection linked to the hospital's water supply, but her parents claim they were never told that this was the cause of their daughter's death.

Mason Djemat, 3, also passed away weeks before Milly Main and had been staying on the same ward, which was affected by contaminated water.

His mother says she has been ignored by NHSGGC and the Scottish Government.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We need to take care when discussing individual cases as we are bound by strict rules of patient confidentiality.

"The issue is being appropriately managed and Health protection Scotland has been informed.

"As this involves a single case we have we have no further comment to make."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Our deepest sympathies go to the family of this patient.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on any individual’s care. Incident Management Teams meet as part of ongoing care and treatment across our hospitals and are part of good clinical governance procedures.”

“This case will also be part of the work we are undertaking through the escalation oversight board chaired by Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Fiona McQueen."