by Bill Heaney
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Children campus which replaced Yorkhill Hospital and serves West Dunbartonshire and Argyll was opened too early and when it was not ready, with devastating consequences, including avoidable infections and deaths.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar showed his determination to have the full facts behind the scandal revealed to the public in the Scottish parliament today (Thursday).
He told MSPs: “At the time that the Queen Elizabeth university hospital was opened, Nicola Sturgeon was the First Minister, John Swinney was the Deputy First Minister and finance secretary, who signed the cheques, and Shona Robison was the health secretary.
Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney, Shona Robison, Anas Sarwar and Lord Brodie.
“We now know that the hospital was opened too early and when it was not ready. External pressure was applied to open the hospital. Why did Scottish National Party ministers put politics before patient safety?”
“I have in my hand official Scottish Government meeting notes. These notes, written by a Scottish Government official, relate to a series of meetings that were held on 16 December 2019, 19 December 2019 and 10 January 2020.
“Those meetings involved a Scottish Government official appointed by the then health secretary, the health board’s director of facilities and a consultant who had been engaged by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to review what went wrong. In the findings, it is stated in black and white that Political pressure was also being felt and no consideration was given to delaying the opening of the hospital despite the issues being faced with completion and operation’.”
“Political pressure was also being felt.
“Will John Swinney now tell members why political pressure was being applied to open a hospital that this note also makes clear was not ready, which led to people dying, or would he rather answer in the presence of his lawyer?”
“On 23 January, counsel to the inquiry said in the summary: ‘There is no evidence of external pressure on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to open the hospital early or before it was ready to be opened’.
“That is what counsel to the inquiry said, and Lord Brodie is considering all these issues.”
“The decision to open the hospital early has resulted in a decade of lies, deceit and cover-up, bullying and gaslighting of staff, families being lied to and denied the truth, and infections that led to the deaths of children and possibly also adults, all because politics was put before patient safety.
“The evidence is damning. People died. I ask John Swinney, was it was worth it?”