Health Secretary Neil Gray has told MSPs that he cannot say whether every ward and unit at Glasgow’s troubled Queen Elizabeth University Hospital has been fully validated as safe.
The minister was asked three times during a heated Holyrood debate whether every room had been formally checked, tested and signed off as meeting required safety standards.
Mr Gray eventually said he had “no doubt that the hospital is safe” but said he was unable to comment on validation — a formal assurance process — arguing that it was a matter for Lord Brodie’s independent Hospitals Inquiry.
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The exchange came during a Labour debate calling on Lord Brodie to consider the actions of the Scottish Government in the commissioning, construction and opening of the hospital.
Anas Sarwar told MSPs that clinicians who raised concerns about the hospital’s water and ventilation systems were still waiting for confirmation that a “deep and comprehensive” check of the entire site had been completed.
He accused the Government of refusing to answer basic questions about whether the hospital is safe, calling it “utterly shameful” and “an abdication of responsibility”.
“I have to say that the government is refusing to say to people across the country whether this hospital and every ward and every unit has been validated and therefore is safe.”
The debate comes after NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) admitted for the first time that it was “more likely than not” contaminated water caused serious infections in vulnerable patients.
The health board’s confession, revealed in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, comes after years of denying any link between the hospital’s water system and a cluster of infections.
Police are now investigating the deaths of three children and three adults. They include 10-year-old Milly Main.
Last week, the board also acknowledged that “pressure was applied to open the hospital on time and on budget”, and that it is now clear the hospital “opened too early” and “was not ready”.
However, on Saturday night, it said the comment was “made in general terms”.
During the debate, Mr Sarwar expressed scepticism, saying it came the night before First Minister John Swinney was due to be interviewed by BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show.
“Who applied the pressure for that statement to be issued, and was it the same people that applied the pressure to open the hospital too early?” Mr Sarwar said.
“We must know whether those applying pressure and the ministers to whom the board was accountable had any indication of patient safety concerns.”
Labour’s motion called on inquiry chairman Lord Brodie to consider the actions of the Scottish Government in the commissioning, construction and opening of the hospital.
Speaking during the debate, Mr Sarwar pushed for current and former ministers involved in the project to be questioned by the inquiry.
“Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Shona Robison have not given testimony at the inquiry and have not been cross-examined,” he said.
“Without that, we will never have the full picture of what happened, and there is a further risk that if political decision making is not examined, ministers will attempt to use the final report of the inquiry as proof that the problems were contained entirely within the health board and could not have been prevented by Government intervention.
“That claim cannot be allowed to stand without proper scrutiny.”
Responding, Mr Gray said it would be illegal for the Scottish Government to direct the Inquiry.
He told MSPs: “When something goes badly wrong in a project of this scale and significance, it is entirely reasonable to want every possible line of responsibility examined.
“However, while I recognise the concern that underpins the motion, I cannot support it because it would be incompatible with the legal framework that governs this inquiry.”
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He added that all statutory public inquiries in Scotland operate under the Inquiries Act, which gives inquiry chairs powers to compel witnesses, require documents and determine what evidence is relevant.
“Those powers are not held by ministers, they are held by the independent inquiry chair. Any member seeking to support the motion is attempting to influence the action of the chair and is calling for the Government to act in a manner incompatible with that legislation, which, of course, we cannot do.”
Mr Sarwar’s motion also called for the release of documents held by the Government in relation to the opening of the hospital.
The Health Secretary said the Government would provide any further information requested by Lord Brodie, but did not say whether it would be published without a formal request from the inquiry.
