Kingston Hospital said they have stopped using food products from a food supplier linked to cases of listeria at UK hospitals recently.

The NHS Foundation Trust was named as one of the 43 Trusts involved in food product lines associated with the outbreak (see below).

Several cases of the harmful listeria bacteria genus were reported in NHS hospitals across the UK in recent days, with a reported nine people infected and five hospital patients dead from infection since the first case was reported.

In an update issued on Monday (June 17), the government's Public Health England body said that four NHS Trusts had treated patients who subsequently died, with a further three having treated patients infected with listeria following the outbreak.

The listeria cases were linked to the food supply at NHS hospitals — specifically, sandwiches and salads provided by the Good Food Chain company.

On Monday, Public Health England also revealed that an additional 43 NHS Trusts were listed as having received products from the company related to the outbreak.

"NHS England and NHS Improvement and the FSA (Food Standards Agency) can confirm that the Good Food Chain supplied affected product lines to...43 NHS Trusts, plus one independent provider.

"The outbreak investigation continues and the public health risk remains low," Public Health England said.

After being named as one of the 43 affected NHS Trusts, representatives at Kingston hospital said they had immediately stopped using any products related to the Good Food Chain since the government's warning over listeria cases was released.

Responding to a request for comment from the Comet, Jo Farrar, Interim Chief Executive at the hospital, said:

"Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has not used any products supplied by the Good Food Chain since Public Health England issued an alert.

"All of the company’s products — which included all sandwiches for our inpatient food service and our on-site restaurant — were immediately removed.

"We are no longer stocking Good Food Chain products and are using a new supplier.

"Public Health England and other agencies are continuing to investigate a small number of confirmed cases of listeria linked to food provided by the Good Food Chain in NHS hospitals. For more information, please see their website."

To view Public Health England's latest update on the listeria outbreak, go to: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/listeria-cases-being-investigated