Handling of water bug doesn’t wash

THE handling of a bacterial outbreak in Scotland’s showpiece hospital provides another example of the creeping culture of secrecy.

That four children may have been made ill by contaminated water in the state-of-the-art facility is an obvious cause for concern.

But it is the authorities’ unthinking reflex to try to cover up the details that’s the most worrying part of the whole episode.

Several weeks ago, a number of children being treated for cancer became ill. It’s feared they ingested contaminated water.

Patients have been unable to bathe for almost three weeks following the discovery of bacteria in the water supply on wards 2a, 2b and 3c in the Schiehallion Unit in Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children.

In the days before spin doctors and social media, an open and transparent account would have been given to the Press once it was known there was a problem.

Instead, NHS bosses kept the crisis hushed up for days – and almost got away with it.

They only released basic details on Friday after the Record started asking questions.

Health Secretary Shona Robison was told about the issue on March 11. But she didn’t feel the need to tell the public.

Health boards are far from the worst offenders when it comes to Scotland’s secrecy obsession – that would be Police Scotland – and it is, of course, the case that issues like patient confidentiality must be respected.

But it is wrong that so much time and effort is spent trying to cover up basic facts.

Public bodies should not spend public cash trying to keep the public in the dark about information that is in the public interest.

It’s nothing short of a disgrace that this is what happens time after time.