New oversight group for Glasgow hospital linked to infections

Health Secretary Neil Gray has announced the creation of a new independent oversight group to boost public confidence in the safety of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.

The campus is the focus of a public inquiry looking at whether problems with water and ventilation systems were to blame for infections and patient deaths.

In a statement to Holyrood, Gray said experts had advised the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry that governance arrangements for both systems at the hospital were now optimal.

He said the new group - which will cover facilities, leadership and public engagement - would involve staff, patients and whistleblowers.

MSPs heard it will be co-chaired by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) chief executive Prof Jann Gardner and Prof Sir Lewis Ritchie, a former director of public health at NHS Grampian.

Opposition parties questioned whether public trust would be restored by the health board marking its own homework.

Last week Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he had "damning" evidence showing that political pressure was applied to rush the opening of the country's largest hospital despite safety fears.

Both the Scottish government and NHSGGC have denied that the health board was pushed to open the QEUH before it was ready.

And at the weekend it emerged Scotland's independent prosecution and deaths investigation service is now investigating seven deaths for potential links to the hospital environment at the QEUH.

The case of 23-year-old Molly Cuddihy - who died last August - has been passed to a specialist hospitals teams in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which is also looking at the deaths of Andrew Slorance and Tony Dynes.

In four earlier cases, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main, a police report has been received and COPFS is considering whether to begin corporate homicide prosecutions.

The three more recent deaths at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus are at an earlier stage of investigation.

A spokesperson for COPFS said: "A thorough and independent investigation into the deaths is ongoing and the families will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments."

Last month, in its closing submission to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, NHSGGC for the first time admitted that some infections among child cancer patients were "on the balance of probabilities" caused by the hospital environment.

COPFS is conducting a separate investigation into the deaths, which could result in the health board that manages the hospital being prosecuted for corporate homicide or under health and safety laws.

In four cases, including that of Milly Main, two unnamed children and 73-year-old Gail Armstrong, police submitted a "standard prosecution report" last May.

That means they have gathered evidence which leads them to suspect a crime has been committed, and it is now up to COPFS to decide how to proceed.

With the three other cases, involving Andrew Slorance, Tony Dynes and Molly Cuddihy, evidence is still being gathered and police have not yet submitted a prosecution report .