The food poisoning bug is suspected to have been caused by a range of pre-packed sandwiches and salads linked to The Good Food Chain, which supplied 43 hospital trusts before the items were removed from circulation.
But Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, which runs Tunbridge Wells Hospital, was not one of them. A spokesperson said: “We can confirm the Trust does not use the supplier in question at any of our sites, or in any of the outlets on our sites.”
So far, five people have died and eight NHS hospitals have reported listeria outbreaks.
As the illness has a 70-day incubation period, fears have been raised that there could be further fatalities, leading to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to vow to ‘take the necessary steps’ to restore trust in hospital food.
The deaths linked to the sandwiches inlcude one at the Royal Hospital Derby, two at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, one patient at Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and another at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Three other trusts have had outbreaks but no deaths.
Investigations have revealed that meat produced by North Country Cooked Meats and supplied to The Good Food Chain has since tested positive for listeria.
