Health minister Edwin Poots to give Stormont pseudomonas update

Health Minister Edwin Poots is to update the Stormont health committee on Wednesday on how the review of the pseudomonas outbreak is progressing.

A review panel from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority is investigating the deaths of four babies who had contracted the infection.

Mr Poots received the interim report from the independent team last Friday.

Its first stage addresses the causes and impact of the outbreak, and the full report is due by the end of May.

Three babies died in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Unit in January, while another newborn died at Londonderry's Altnagelvin Hospital in December.

All 175 taps in Northern Ireland's neo-natal units are being replaced, with priority being given to taps where contamination had been detected.

Neo-natal wards also conducted deep cleans and intensive checks for the bacteria that can be found in water supply units.

Only sterile water is being used for the direct care of patients.