By Bill Heaney

The local health board’s decision to give its management team – the chairperson and chief executive in particular – awards for excellent leadership has sparked widespread anger amongst badly let-down patients and bereaved relatives who are queuing up to complain about it.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde announced its Celebrating Success Awards via Twitter on Wednesday.

However, the health board, which serves West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute, has been roundly criticised for its spin doctoring of the actuality which, on closer examination, reveals a very different picture from the content, efficient and caring organisation it has been portrayed as.

Most grating on the many critics appears to be that the “excellence in leadership” prize went to chief executive Jane Grant and the board’s senior management team.

Especially since the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the board’s £1 billion flagship hospital, is currently the subject of an ongoing public inquiry involving patient deaths, dirty water and infection spread by feral pigeons entering the state of the art premises through broken windows.

However, NHSGCC still remains in level four of the Scottish government’s performance framework, under control of an oversight board.

She described the executive team [widely known as the suits who are highly paid to run the hospital] receiving awards as “a kick in the guts”.

Andrew Slorance, his wife Louise and their three children.

She said: “The factors to support excellent leadership of NHSGGC are actually a reflection of the highly skilled and dedicated healthcare workforce in Glasgow, who strive every day to provide the best possible care for their patients in impossible circumstances.

“The body of evidence supporting the worst of leadership by NHSGCC is substantial. This is a kick in the guts for all the families, patients and staff affected by the issues at the QEUH.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has championed the families of patients who died from infections linked to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

He tweeted his anger at the award – “Do they have no shame?” he said. “Children have died. Families heartbroken. Staff failed [let down]. A public inquiry. Criminal investigations. Instead of being sacked, the Chair [John Brown] presents his own Chief Executive with an award.

“It’s [the] leadership of brave families and staff that should be awarded.”

Mr Sarwar said that it could not be underestimated how much hurt the move would cause “already heartbroken” families and staff who are “struggling to fight the system to get justice”.

The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus opened in 2015, but has been hit by a series of issues around safety and infection control.

An earlier review found the hospital environment was at least partly to blame for the deaths of two children, one of whom was Milly Main, who died in 2017 after contracting a water-borne infection while being treated for leukaemia.

Her mother, Kimberly Darroch, said she had spent two years “fighting for answers, truth and transparency”, to no avail.

In December 2021, calls were made repeatedly by Jackie Baillie, the MSP for Dumbarton and Scottish Labour health spokesperson, for the board of NHSGCC to be replaced.

Cllr Jonathan McColl, leader of the SNP administration at West Dunbartonshire Council, was criticised for not paying sufficient attention to his role on the health board and for missing a meeting to deal with his constituency correspondence.

Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar accused senior health board  management of a “culture of secrecy, of cover-ups and denials” in connection with the infections.

The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is subject to several investigations, including a judge-led public inquiry, which has been continued.

Dumbarton constituency MSP Jackie Baillie said: “Families have been left devastated and the hard-working staff have been failed by the leadership at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. A public inquiry is being held and there are criminal investigations under way.

“But instead of being sacked, the Chair presents his own Chief Executive with an award.  This is such a slap in the face for the families and staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital who have been failed by the Chief Executive and Chair.”

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf; First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, and Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour

A group of senior clinicians wrote to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf voicing anger about how the row was playing out in politics and the press.

The health board remains in stage four of the “health board performance framework” – commonly referred to as the board being placed in “special measures”.

Only one higher level exists – which would see Ministers intervene.

The Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, added: “Giving this award to the chief executive is not just insensitive, it beggars belief.

“The tragedy of children dying due to infections at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital has left enormous questions to be answered by the chief executive and chairman of the health board.

“The toxic culture at the top of the board has discouraged hard-working and dedicated staff from speaking out about this scandal and grieving families have been left in the dark as a result.”

Dr Gulhane said that for those families to learn the chief executive had received an award for leadership was “grossly insulting and offensive”.

He accused the health board’s chairman, who styles himself Professor John Brown CBE, of being deaf to criticism of the way the board was being run.

Professor Brown, a retired civil servant, has defended the awards ceremony.

He told one journalist: “We were delighted to recognise the tremendous contribution of many of our staff at last night’s awards, including the senior management team, our corporate directors and those who manage our hospitals and health and social care partnerships.

“This award was to recognise their exceptional leadership and the organisation’s very effective response to the challenges we faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He said the board believed it was right to commend people for their contribution, irrespective of where they work .

However, the health board’s tweet attracted nearly 40 negative replies.

John Miller wrote: “sickening and so predictable”. Twitter user Cath said: “You have got to be joking”.

Brian Devlin wrote: “This stinks to high heaven. Have you no shame at all?” And Jock Burns called it: “jaw dropping poor taste.”

• A full report of the Awards ceremony appears elsewhere in this issue of The Democrat.