New watchdog for Scotland’s most troubled hospital

The group will be co-chaired by Sir Lewis Ritchie, the Sir James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice at the University of Aberdeen, and Professor Jann Gardner, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Mr Gray said the group, whose work will include engagement with patients, families, staff and whistleblowers, would not interfere with the independent public inquiry led by Lord Brodie, which is examining the construction and operation of the hospital following a series of serious infections and deaths.

He added that the body would work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Assure, and that “enhanced reporting will be established with the Scottish Government who will provide scrutiny, challenge and support to the delivery of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s programme of work”.

The Tories were scathing about the decision to appoint Professor Gardner to the post.

Shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “The very board that threatened and silenced whistleblowers is now being put in charge of the so-called oversight group. The cabinet secretary is basically asking an arsonist to investigate why the house burnt down. This is exactly how to intimidate and silence whistleblowers from coming forwards.”

The announcement came as the Health Secretary confirmed officials were examining how documents relating to political decision-making around the hospital’s opening and operation could be disclosed, following a Holyrood debate last week.

Parliament backed a motion tabled by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar calling on ministers to authorise the immediate full disclosure and preservation of all communications connected to contaminated water, inadequate ventilation and the premature opening of the hospital.

Mr Gray told MSPs: “My officials are now examining how the documents referred to by the motion voted on by Parliament can be released safely and lawfully, and I will update Parliament in due course.”

However, he warned that ministers would not jeopardise the integrity of ongoing investigations to meet political demands.

“Let me also be clear in stating this Government will not risk the integrity of the independent inquiry or seek to interfere in the work of the Crown Office to purely satisfy the political appetite of some Members in this Chamber,” he said.

The Health Secretary told MSPs that families affected by infection outbreaks at the billion-pound hospital deserved the truth, but said that truth could only be delivered through due process.

Police are investigating a series of deaths linked to infections at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main, who died in 2017 after contracting a rare bacterium while being treated for leukaemia.

Last month, in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde admitted for the first time that it was “more likely than not” contaminated water caused serious infections in vulnerable patients.

That confession came after years of denying any link.

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”.

A report uncovered last week described “dysfunctional” management, a maintenance budget “about half” what staff believed was required, and a hospital that was “far from optimum” in operational readiness when patients began moving in 2015, just weeks before the general election.

Nicola Sturgeon and the Queen at the opening of the QEUH in 2015 (Image: PA)

Reports published at the weekend also said red and amber health alerts were issued between 2015 and 2018 in relation to serious infections, including outbreaks affecting babies and children.

The Scottish Government has long insisted ministers did not have prior knowledge of systemic water contamination issues before 2018.

Mr Gray told MSPs: “As is a matter of public record before the inquiry, the Scottish Government was only informed of water contamination issues at the QEUH on 1 March 2018.”

He told MSPs that red health alerts received before that date “did not suggest there were wider problems in the QEUH”, adding that such alerts could be triggered by a range of factors and were “not necessarily an indication of a wider problem”.

Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar said: “For seven years, families, staff and I have been raising concerns about the Queen Elizabeth and for seven years, SNP ministers told us there was nothing to see. Seven years of dither, denial, lies, gaslighting and bullying. That is the context the Health Secretary ignores today.

“Families have got to where they are today because they fought the system, a system that protected reputations rather than patients. Let me tell him that no one believes the Health Secretary when he says there were no warnings of issues until March 2018 and nobody believes him when he says pressure was not applied. They will be found out, presiding officer.

“Now, while I welcome the new oversight group, the truth is we have been here before. And as I said last week on current issues, I will not be satisfied until the brave doctors who exposed the truth are satisfied.”

During the statement, Mr Gray was asked repeatedly to confirm whether a full validation of the hospital’s wards, water systems and ventilation had taken place, and whether the findings had been shared with infection control specialists.

The minister did not give a direct yes-or-no answer.

Instead, he said the issue of validation had been explored during the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and was a matter of public record before Lord Brodie. He told MSPs he would not “second-guess the conclusions” of the inquiry, but insisted that the hospital is currently safe.

Mr Sarwar said: “It is outrageous that the SNP Government still cannot tell us whether the hospital has been validated, whether those findings have been independently verified, and whether this will be published.

“The Health Secretary’s failure to answer those basic questions cost him the last shreds of his credibility.”