Chief nurse's 'Disney trip' suggestion for bereaved families 'shameful' - Sarwar

An alleged comment made by Scotland's former chief nursing officer about families affected by a hospital infection scandal being offered a trip to Disneyland has been described as "shameful" in parliament.

Prof Fiona McQueen is said to have questioned why the local health board did not offer affected families £50,000, reportedly noting it would cover a holiday at the US theme park, instead of denying that safety defects had caused harm.

A public inquiry is looking into the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow following deaths linked to infections.

Prof McQueen previously said she did "not recall" making the comment and insisted her priority had been patient safety.

At First Minister's Questions, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar described the alleged comment as "shameful, utterly shameful".

The first minister's official spokesman later said that John Swinney had full confidence in Prof McQueen in her current role as chairwoman of the Scottish Police Authority, a public body that oversees policing.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) admitted recently that problems with the QEUH water system probably did cause infections in child cancer patients - having initially denied this.

Prosecutors are investigating seven deaths for potential links to the hospital environment after it opened in 2015.

Prof McQueen, who advised ministers on nursing, midwifery, and associated areas of healthcare, retired as chief nursing officer in March 2021.

She is said to have made the comment during a meeting in December 2019 attended by then health secretary Jeane Freeman.

It was also attended by consultant microbiologist Dr Christine Peters, a whistleblower who says she had been flagging concerns about the hospital buildings since 2014 but was advised to "pipe down".

In evidence previously submitted to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, Dr Peters said that she had updated Prof McQueen about her concerns at the 2019 meeting.

Quoting Prof McQueen, Dr Peters told the inquiry: "At one point she said that she could not understand 'why [the health board] had not just offered the families 50 grand which is a trip to Disneyland, rather than deny that there had been harm caused".

Dr Peters said she was "appalled" by the comment.

She told the inquiry: "I thought that that missed the point, which is that there was a safety hazard that had not been dealt with and just paying people off would neither fix the hazard nor the organisation's culture in dealing with it."

In her witness statement to the inquiry, Prof McQueen said she did "not recall using these words".

She said she did recall discussing Dr Peter's concerns about the way patient complaints had been handled.

The former chief nursing officer told the inquiry: "In no way would I have sought to downplay the seriousness of the concerns conveyed by Dr Peters."

She added that her priority was "always patient safety".

Prof McQueen, who was awarded a CBE for services to the NHS in 2021, is also vice-chairwoman of Scotland's drugs deaths taskforce.

Sarwar told MSPs the alleged comment was "shameful, utterly shameful".

He added: "And it should shame every member of the SNP government.

"Bribes rather than truth and justice.

"The pain this government has inflicted on these families is through the roof."

First Minister John Swinney said he was "horrified" by the suffering of bereaved families.

He said the public inquiry had been set up to "give the truth" to the families.

Swinney said he was "appalled" by Sarwar's calls for inquiry chairman Lord Brodie to consider the role of the Scottish government in construction and opening of the QEUH.

He accused the Labour leader of political interference and said he should be "ashamed" of his conduct.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane described Prof McQueen's reported comments as "absolutely disgusting".

He added: "Grieving families will be furious that someone in such a senior position even thought of saying something so callous and offensive."

Prof McQueen has been approached for comment.