HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman will today be questioned by MSPs as an inquiry into health risks posed by contamination in hospital buildings continues.
The move comes after it emerged a specialist unit at the Crown Office is investigating the death of a three-year-old boy at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow in August, 2017. There are separate claims of a “cover-up” in relation to the death of a 10-year-old girl, also at the hospital in the same month.
Kimberly Darroch said last week her daughter Milly Main caught an infection from contaminated water while she was in remission from cancer. In relation to the death of the young boy, a Crown Office spokesman said yesterday: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report in connection with the death of a three-year-old boy at the QEUH on August 9, 2017.
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“The investigation into the death, under the direction of Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit [SFIU], is ongoing and the family will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”
The QEUH opened in 2015 and a number of issues have since arisen over water hygiene, external cladding and the ventilation system.
The Government previously acknowledged an infection linked to pigeon droppings was a factor in the death of a young patient. The concerns prompted Holyrood’s Health Committee to launch an inquiry in February into “hazards in the healthcare environment”.
A separate external review has also been set up by the Health Secretary to look at the QEUH’s design, commissioning and construction, handover and ongoing maintenance.
Meanwhile, the opening of the £150 million Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, due to take place in July, was postponed for a least a year after last-minute inspections found safety concerns over its ventilation systems.
An independent review found the main issue with ventilation in critical care stemmed from an error in a document produced by NHS Lothian at the tender stage in 2012.
Ahead of the session today, committee convener Lewis Macdonald said the issues at both the QEUH and Edinburgh’s new Sick Kids Hospital “are of deep concern” to MSPs.
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“We want to ensure that the public inquiry into the various issues these health facilities have faced is progressing,” he said. “We also want to know what progress has been made in creating a new national body to oversee NHS building projects in future and that the issues regarding the disposal of clinical waste are being addressed. It is absolutely vital that patients in Scotland have faith that all healthcare facilities in Scotland meet the most robust standards of safety and cleanliness and pose no threat to their health.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s Anas Sarwar has written to the Health Committee to ask for a specific investigation into water contamination at the QEUH. He noted the ongoing public inquiry but said all avenues must be explored in finding answers for families and that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board chiefs should be forced to appear before MSPs.
Last week, Sarwar revealed whistleblower claims about contaminated water at the flagship QEUH hospital, including claims a clinician-led review uncovered 26 infection cases in 2017 and the death of a child. That led to the parents of Milly Main approaching Sarwar and choosing to tell their story. Sarwar has said NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde should be put into “special measures”.
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