Freeman ‘must resign or be sacked over serious failure’
HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman was urged to resign last night after the death of Milly Main.
A whistleblower claimed this week that the ten-year-old died from an infection linked to a hospital’s water supply – and said that the child’s parents were not told.
Miss Freeman admitted she had known about the case for two months but did not make it public,
sparking claims of a ‘cover-up’. Last night, Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘There’s no way Jeane Freeman can continue [as Health Secretary].
‘It shouldn’t take a whistleblower to drag the truth out of this SNP Government.
‘It’s completely unacceptable. Patients will be furious such a serious failure has been covered up. The Health Secretary must apologise to the family and resign or, if she refuses, be sacked.’
The water supply at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and adjoining Royal Hospital for Children was found to have ‘widespread contamination’ after recent tests.
Health bosses said there was no evidence Milly’s infection – caused by the bacteria stenotrophomonas – was caused by such contamination. The official inquiry into the water supply at the QEUH found 23 cases of child cancer patients with stenotrophomonas in 2018.
The whistleblower told Labour MSP Anas Sarwar that an internal probe had uncovered an additional 26 cases since 2017.
Mr Sarwar said: ‘This devastating death has been covered up.’
In a letter to Mr Sarwar, Miss Freeman said she did not make Milly’s death public due to ‘patient confidentiality’. NHS
Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘In 2017, we investigated two individual cases of stenotrophomonas which weren’t linked.
‘National guidance did not include a requirement for boards to test for it in the water supply. As no tests were carried out, it is not possible to conclude that these infections were connected to the supply.
‘We remain concerned that a member of staff has made a claim of a link when there is no evidence of this.’