WE WILL FIND ANSWERS FOR YOU
HOSPITAL DEATH PROBE UNDER WAY Inquiry chief promises to deliver for the families of those who died
THE chairman of the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry yesterday promised a “careful and fair” investigation as he appealed for witnesses to come forward. Families of those who died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus were disappointed an earlier inquiry, which published in June, failed to find evidence to link hospital infections to deaths. But yesterday Lord Brodie assured those affected his probe would find answers. He said: “We have powers they did not have and we will be considering issues independently from our own perspective. We read the independent review group report and it will be an important part of the information available to us but their terms of reference are not our terms of reference.” The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry was set up in the wake of deaths linked to infection in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Children. The problems first came to light in March 2018 when three desperately ill children became infected with a bacterial infection found in the water supply at the Royal Hospital for Children. In August that year, 10-year-old cancer patient Milly Main died after picking up a bug in a tube used to administer drugs. Her mum Kimberly Darroch, 36, from Lanark, has been seeking answers to why her little girl died. A month after her death, two children’s cancer wards at the hospital closed and 22 children were removed to the QEUH.
One of those children, a 10-year-old boy, died in December that year from an infection associated with pigeon droppings.
A month later, a 73-year-old woman also died after contracting the infection. In February last year, grandmother Mito Kaur died after picking up another infection.
Professor John Cuddihy, whose daughter Molly survived a rare infection in 2018, said the inquiry must get to the bottom of long-standing issues with “trust, transparency and accountability” at QEUH. Labour MSP Anas Sarwar said it must deliver for parents, patients and the public.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said the safety and wellbeing of all patients and families was her top priority and should be the primary consideration in NHS construction projects.
Anyone with information which could assist the inquiry should email public@hospitalsinquiry.scot