This is the biggest scandal in the history of the Parliament, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar tells MSPs
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Whistleblowers came to me with devastating evidence that children had died due to infections in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital — but their parents had never been told the true cause of their deaths
Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader, pictured with Kimberley Darroch, mother of ten-year-old Milly Main, who died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
by Bill Heaney
Scotland’s First Minister was today accused of giving answers to a judge-led public inquiry into the deaths in hospital of at least two children as “simply not credible”.
Labour leader Anas Sarwar claimed “Pressure was applied to open the hospital on time and on budget, and it is now clear that the hospital opened too early. It was not ready.”
Mr Sarwar, was speaking in the Holyrood parliament. He said: “The hospital opened with contaminated water, which infected people and led to the deaths of at least two children. Weeks before the children’s hospital opened, an internal report warned of a high risk of infections and, therefore, a high risk to life for immunocompromised patients.
“The report was ignored, pressure was applied and the hospital opened anyway, with devastating consequences. Who applied the pressure and why?”
One tough question followed another for First Minister John Swinney, who replied: “I will make two points to Mr Sarwar. First, as he correctly says, the hospital opened in 2015. The first that the Scottish Government was advised by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde of a water contamination problem was on 1 March 2018, which was long after the report that Mr Sarwar has referred to.
“Secondly, Mr Sarwar has raised a point that is absolutely fundamental to the conduct of the public inquiry, which Lord Brodie is undertaking. I acknowledge the significant public interest in the issue, which is why Lord Brodie must have the opportunity to consider and reflect on the evidence and to set out his conclusions.”
Anas Sarwar told MSPs: “The answer is not credible. It is either at least negligence or, more likely, criminal incompetence if the Government is suggesting that the internal report was never seen.
“When the hospital opened, Nicola Sturgeon was the First Minister, John Swinney was the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, so he signed the cheques, and Shona Robison was the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport.
“They received the internal report that warned of high risks of infection weeks before the hospital opened. They ignored it and opened the hospital anyway, and children died as a result.
“For seven years, families have been lied to; whistleblowers have been bullied, gaslit and punished; and those who raised concerns were dismissed and patronised.
“Pressure was applied to open the hospital before it was ready, even though there was contaminated water that risked lives. I ask John Swinney again: who applied the pressure and why?”
The First Minister maintained: “Those issues are the substance of the public inquiry that Lord Brodie, pictured right, must undertake. As I have already indicated, the Government expected the hospital to open and preparations were being made to do that.
“The operational responsibility for that lay with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Mr Sarwar said that the experience of whistleblowers, staff, and patients and their families has been completely unacceptable. I agree with that whole-heartedly.
“That is why the Government set up a public inquiry—because we were so concerned about the circumstances, we felt that it was necessary to have a judicially led inquiry to get to the truth and to satisfy the legitimate concerns that exist. That is what Lord Brodie will reflect on in the course of completing his report.”
Anas Sarwar was angry.
He said: “If Jeanne Freeman [a former Labour special adviser who defected to the SNP and became Health Secretary] could see a report and stop the opening of a hospital in Edinburgh, why could Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Shona Robison not do that too? That is at the heart of the issue.
“This is the biggest scandal in the history of the Parliament. I first raised the case seven years ago, when whistleblowers came to me with devastating evidence that children had died due to infections but their parents had never been told the true cause of their deaths.
“One of those parents was Kimberly Darroch, the mother of Milly Main. Milly was in remission but died after contracting an infection from the water. She was 10 years old. Milly was forced to fight not only cancer but an unseen danger inside those hospital walls. Every step of the way, the health board and countless SNP ministers closed ranks and denied that there was a problem.”
He added: “People have died. Their families deserve the truth. A hospital was opened too soon with contaminated water that infected patients and led to deaths.
“The health board says that pressure was applied to open it before it was safe.
“I therefore ask the First Minister, for the third time, to tell the truth. The health secretary at the time is sitting [in the chamber] right next to the First Minister, who was the Deputy First Minister and finance secretary at the time. They could ask Nicola Sturgeon, too. Tell the truth: who applied the pressure and why?”
The First Minister maintained: “I have already answered that question through the answers that I set out to Mr Findlay.”
But not everyone was having that. And protests from the Holyrood benches had to be halted by the presiding officer.
Stephen Kerr told Mr Swinney: “No, you did not.”
The First Minister replied: “I would say to Mr Sarwar that, when the Government became aware of those issues, which was when the water contamination incident was raised with it on 1 March 2018, a sequence of events followed that led to the establishment of a public inquiry.”
Stephen Kerr urged Mr Swinney to answer the question.
But Mr Swinney told him: “Once the circumstances were reported to the Government in March 2018, a sequence of events was put in place that resulted in the establishment of the public inquiry, the substance of which involves consideration of all the evidence.
“That is what the Government has done to make sure that we face up to the issues that are being raised in the chamber and provide answers to the families of Milly Main and others, who have suffered so significantly as a consequence of those circumstances.
“That is the commitment that the Government has made and that Lord Brodie will fulfil.”
See also previous report on question to the FM from Tory leader Russell Findlay
Top of page: Milly Main and her mother, Kimberly Darroch.
