First Minister John Swinney, past FM Nicola Sturgeon and Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital campus.
by Bill Heaney
First Minister John Swinney must be held responsible for the “criminal failures” of the SNP government to protect children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children, Scottish Labour said yesterday.
In closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals public inquiry, the health board has now accepted that dirty water at the QEUH “most likely” caused infections in child cancer patients.
It is despite parents, clinicians and whistleblowers having been lied to for years by NHS managers – aided and abetted by SNP ministers.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has now demanded that those in senior positions are held to account, including naming SNP ministers as suspects in a corporate homicide investigation.
Mr Sarwar, who has long campaigned for the families of those who have died at the hospital, said: “For years, families have been forced to fight for the truth about what happened to their children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
“Whistleblowers were gaslit, lied to and punished for telling the truth. They have been ignored, dismissed, patronised, and made to feel like they were ‘making a fuss’.
“They have been attacked and victimised by NHS managers paid for by taxpayer money, they have lost jobs, and seen their personal lives targeted by institutions more interested in covering up their failures than the truth.
“Every step of the way they have been supported by SNP ministers, who never stopped lying to hide the truth of their failure. The SNP and the board did not put patient safety and families first. Instead, they – led by John Swinney – closed ranks.
“The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life. Since the hospital opened, there has been a litany of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures, and infections that devastated families.
“NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been named as a suspect in a corporate homicide investigation relating to the deaths of patients including ten-year-old Milly Main, pictured left. In my opinion, so should the SNP ministers responsible for the cover up, because this is a serious criminal matter.
“This latest admission by NHSGGC should be a turning point. It should be the beginning of the end for the SNP’s secret Scotland. A moment when Scotland finally says – enough.
“Enough of the cover-ups. Enough of the bullying. Enough of the delays. Enough of the excuses. Families deserve answers. They deserve accountability. And they deserve justice.
“The question now is simple – Will John Swinney finally take responsibility for the criminal failures of his government, of NHSGCC and the conspiracy to lie to parents, patients, and Scotland.
“The families have waited long enough. Now it’s time for Scotland to do the right thing.”
Top of page picture: Labour leader Anas Sarwar campaigning with Milly Main’s mother shortly after her daughter’s death.