HUMZA Yousaf has criticised a health board for spying on the grieving widow of a patient who died in one of their hospitals.

Earlier this week, the Sunday Mail reported that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had paid a private firm to carry out “social listening” on a number of people, including Louise Slorance. 

The mum-of-five has been campaigning for answers about a number of deaths Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH), including her late husband Andrew.

The former Scottish Government communications chief died in 2020 after contracting Covid while waiting for cancer treatment at the QEUH.

The hospital did not tell his family that he had also caught Aspergillus, a deadly infection while in their care. 

Ms Slorance believes this could have been linked to poor construction standards at the QEUH, and has long campaigned for answers around his death and the death of others. 

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She discovered she was the subject of the health board’s social listening after submitting a Freedom of Information request. 

Ms Slorance, who was in the gallery for FMQs, has called for the NHSGGC leadership to be sacked.

Mr Yousaf told MSPs: “I was also disturbed by reports that were in the newspapers in this regard. My understanding is, of course you would expect, that there is a level of media monitoring that does take place by a board, particularly one the size of Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

“But having listened to the concerns that have been raised by Louise Slorance, I think Greater Glasgow and Clyde have taken the right action by removing Louise Slorance from that media monitoring that they have.

“I would request Greater Glasgow and Clyde – and I have already – to listen compassionately and listen sensitively to those patients that have been impacted and have been affected.

“I understand they’re reviewing their media monitoring and communications processes, but they should absolutely at the heart of it have patients, particularly those who have been bereaved and those who have raised concerns about these particular issues.”

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Mr Sarwar told the First Minister he needed to go further. 

“What the leadership of this health board is doing is disturbing and is just the latest in a litany of shameful incidents that has seen the leadership of this health board intimidate whistle-blowers, engage in a cover-up and frustrate the efforts of grieving families who are looking for justice.

"And instead of backing patients, Humza Yousaf as health secretary decided to take the board out of special measures and empower those responsible?

"The culture in this board is rotten, so rotten that their Director of Communications allegedly thought it was acceptable to say of a father fighting for justice for his sick daughter, and I quote, he may have won the battle, but he won't win the war."

Mr Sarwar asked the First Minister why he continued to have confidence in the health board.

The SNP leader said he took the allegations "extremely, extremely seriously"

"And that's why we have a public inquiry underway which, of course, Greater Glasgow and Clyde and indeed the Scottish Government will cooperate fully with." 

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Mr Sarwar said the First Minister did not need to wait for an inquiry "to know that spying on the families of dead patients is wrong – you just need to look to your conscience."

Over the weekend, a spokesperson for NHSGGC told the Sunday Mail: “Any mention of Mrs Slorance has been removed from our social listening.

"We can confirm that no other patients or families were ever included as part of our social listening. Our social listening is undertaken by an external organisation.”