Health board insists hospitals are safe after families raise concerns with first minister

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said both the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) are “safe today”.

Both hospitals take patients from West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute.

An inquiry examining the hospitals due to patient deaths and infections linked to contaminated water and ventilation systems concluded last month. The findings are expected later this year.

It comes after the relatives of 27 patients who have died or suffered infections contracted at the hospital signed a letter to John Swinney saying more reassurance is needed.

The letter to First Minister John Swinney, signed by 91 people, was first reported in the Mail On Sunday.

It said: “We believe it is right that you hear our position, in our words, direct from the people who have lost their children, their soul mates and those whose lives have been forever changed.

“While our journeys started at different times, we share one common aim – no family should ever again go through what we have.”

Separately from the inquiry, The Crown Office is examining the deaths of seven patients at the hospital, and possible links to the hospital environment.

When the issue was raised at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Swinney said the water and ventilation system management at the hospital had seen significant improvements, describing it as “exceeding standard guidance”.

However, the letter from the families says more clarity is needed on what standards the hospital is complying with, claiming the current ventilation system poses a risk to immunocompromised patients.

Dr Christine Peters, left, who is one of a number of NHS whistleblowers to have raised concerns about the hospital in the past, said her heart goes out to the families “in their frustration at the lack of clarity about the evidence regarding the current state of the building”.

The consultant microbiologist added: “While it seems that repeated statements are intended to reassure, the vague wording achieves the opposite.

“For example, there needs to be agreement on what’s meant by safe. Safe as what?

“The families have been promised answers and they must have them.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients.

However, in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, the health board said it was likely there was a “causal connection” between infections suffered by patients and “the hospital environment, in particular the water system”.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “The first minister thanks the families for their letter and recognises their dedication to engaging with the independent public inquiry, despite the pain and distress this will inevitably be causing.

“Our priority is to ensure that patients, families, staff and the public have full confidence in the safety of facilities and the environment in which services are delivered within the QEUH and RHC today.”

She continued: “NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde has now received two positive independent reports from December and January showing their water and ventilation systems are fully compliant.”

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: “We want to reassure patients and families that the QEUH and RHC are safe today.

“This is highlighted by evidence given by the independent expert Mr Andrew Poplett to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry.

“Comprehensive steps have been taken to address past physical defects in the building, and a significant and ongoing programme of maintenance and monitoring is in place. We remain focused on providing safe, high-quality care for all patients.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie, right, has demanded answers on the safety of the two hospitals on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in a parliamentary debate.

The party has lodged a motion for debate which raises concerns over the SNP government’s failure to confirm that the scandal-hit hospital has been validated as meeting required safety requirements.

Under questioning from MSPs, Health Secretary Neil Gray has repeatedly failed to confirm whether the QEUH has now been validated as safe, despite thousands of patients being treated in the hospital yearly.

The counsel to the Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining the tragic deaths caused by infections at the QEUH, told the Inquiry that it was “most concerning” that this validation still had not been done.

The motion puts pressure on the government to set out:

• when it will carry out the risk assessment of the hospital’s ventilation system, as recommended by the inquiry
• what mitigations are currently in place to ensure that the water is safe to use, how it intends to protect at-risk patients in areas that have not been validated
• when this validation will be carried out and the documentation shared with whistleblowers and infection control.

Scottish Labour said it was “scandalous” that the SNP cannot answer these questions and urged all parties to “put patient safety before party politics” by backing the motion.

Dumbarton MSP and Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said “What happened at the QEUH was the worst scandal in the history of devolution.

“A hospital was opened when it was unsafe and people died as a result – but the SNP don’t seem to have learned the lessons.

“It is scandalous that the SNP government still cannot tell us straight whether the hospital people are in right now has been validated as safe.

“John Swinney and the SNP must break their silence, end the cover-ups and tell us the truth about the state of this hospital.

“I hope all MSPs can put patient safety before party politics and back this motion.”