A NATIONAL tirrivee bides wi the syne tae be published Chilcot Inquiry intil the Iraq war. Seeven year an £10 million in the makkin, it wis caa’d bi Gordon Broon tae spier anent aa stages o the war; Wis it a justifiable war? Wis it planned an cairriet oot properly? Whit wis the ootcome o it? Whit did oor sodgers fecht an dee tae achieve? It luiked at the ongauns o that maist globally influential Scot, Tony Blair. Wis this a time whan a Scot raither as an American pu’d the strings? Is it somethin we are prood o?

We aften hear o caa’s fir public inquiries, but they hae a verra chequered history. They are caa’d fir bi meenisters, be they at Holyrood or Westmeenster. They aa faa unner the Public Inquiries Act 2005 whaur ‘‘particular events have caused, or are capable of causing, public concern, or there is public concern that particular events may have occurred”. They tak a loat ae time an siller, an dinnae ayeweys fuin the ruit o the problem or a solution.

Castin wir een back ower the past hunner year syne o inquiries in the UK; frae the Tay Bridge disaster oan, there hae bin verra effective wans, an wans that werenae sae effective. In Scotland we hae baith. Lord Cullen led twa fawmous inquiries, wan o whilk wis intil the Dunblane shootins o 1996. This led tae tichter gun control an better schuil security tae mak oor weans mair siccar. He alsae led the Piper Alpha inquiry intil the rig disaster o 1988, the ootcome o which wis the safety regime that hus sae faur preventit ony further sic major accidents oan affshore rigs. Baith these inquiries merked the respeck fir thaim wha loast their lives an seen til’t that lessons wir lairnt that hae made a muckle difference.

Then we hae the failures. Ower the last twa year we hae hud the twa inquiries intil NHS Scotland. Ane at the Vale of Leven o 35 tae 50 daiths linkit wi hospital- acquired infections. The saicent, the Penrose Inquiry intil the supply o contaminated bluid products linkit wi avoidable risk, hairm an daith til patients athort the UK. These baith taen ower five years tae feenish at an aathegaither cost abune £20 million.

The return we goat frae these wis gey puir. Baith failt tae mak mention o the law whaurby gin the NHS hud complied wi the law (an oor government hud uphauden it) there widnae hae bin sic disasters in the first place! The recommendations frae baith inquiries missed the hale jing-bang o ony legal requirements, wir fushionless an wull dae nocht tae prevent the recurrence o future or conteenuin infection cases. A competent investigation intil baith cuid hae foun the problems an solutions at next tae nae cost.

An nou tae the missin! O aa the issues that hae led tae caa’s fir inquiries nane rivals the consequences fir the people o Scotland wi regairds tae the current shout fir an inquiry intil patient safety in Scotland. Internationally it is weel kent that there is muckle avoidable hairm an daith in healthcare. New figures cite that there are mair as 60,000 fowk a year in the UK condemned tae an early daith acause o failins bi the NHS an ither public health bodies. These stammygasterin nummers pits healthcare staundarts in the UK ablow that o Slovenia. Scotland is nae different – but oor government wullnae recognise it. Naebody kens juist hou mony daiths there wull be in Scotland – because naebody is luikin! The UK Government nou recognises this (check oot the new Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, HSIB) that’s due tae begin wark this autumn, wi a budget of £3.6 million an wull cairry oot aroond 30 reviews a year) an is slaely beginnin tae tackle the issue.

Meanwhile, up here, the Scottish Government an the Lord Advocate wir minded oan fowr year syne that the law is there tae protect Scottish patients as weel as the feck o thaim in the rest o the UK. Yet aye-an-oan they refuse tae comply wi the law, an the ootcomes o this wull hae bin that there are thoosans o raisonably preventable an avoidable daiths in health an social care, wi ither hairm an wastit resources. The law an its requirement oan hou tae prevent this great hairm exists – adherence tae it is the anely wey tae produce the "best healthcare in the world", no tae ignore aa thae daiths an the solution tae this crisis.

The law is UK-wide; the responsibility tae deliver safe effective healthcare is the Scottish Government’s responsibility (nae maitter whit political pairty is rinnin the show). Whan it fails tae uphaud the law it then becomes a maitter fir the UK Government. Memmers o the health pressure group ASAP-NHS hae caa’d oan the First Meenister an her colleagues tae uphaud the law an tae comply wi their ain legal responsibilities. They wir askt back in May 2015 tae back the case fir the public inquiry – but nae answer wis furthcomin. The case fir the public inquiry hus hud tae gang tae the UK Government as oor ain fowk wullnae protect oor ain people as the law requires. This is a disgraceful poseetion that brings shame oan us aa.

We hae tae be fell able o deliverin oan devolved areas o responsibilities – an in maist cases we are – an tae tak the ownership fir daein sae. Gin we dinnae protect oor ain people, then it aye-an-oan faa’s tae the UK an alsae tae the European Court of Human Rights tae uphaud that maist basic o human richts – “the right to life”. A competent inquiry intil patient safety in Scotland must be held, an held suin – it wid be the means tae solve patient safety fir us nou, an fir the generations tae come.