NO EXCUSE
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THERE is “no excuse” for the way the NHS treated a grieving family after the death of little Milly Main at an infection-hit hospital, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has insisted.
The MSP said the handling of the tragedy was “appalling” and added: “I don’t believe people are wilfully intending to cause more pain and upset but their actions absolutely do.”
Freeman also revealed it was a “reasonable position” to blame dirty water at Glasgow’s super-hospital for the infection – after NHS chiefs said there was no way of knowing.
HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman yesterday admitted that dirty water at Glasgow’s super-hospital was the most likely cause of the death of 10-year-old Milly Main.
In an interview with the Daily Record, she also blasted NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s handling of Milly’s case as “appalling” and turned on health bosses for their criticism of the whistleblower who exposed the scandal.
Freeman took aim at the embattled health board after having to make an apology at Holyrood. She also revealed that “a number” of other patients had come to her recently with concerns about the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
We disclosed claims by a whistleblower that 26 child cancer patients had acquired water-related infections at the QEUH campus in 2017.
The insider claimed one of the children – who we later revealed to be cancer patient Milly – had died after contracting the infection. The doctor-led probe that uncovered the cases was never published by NHSGGC.
Milly’s mum, Kimberly Darroch, said her daughter was in remission at the time and is “100 per cent” convinced contaminated water at the QEUH killed her daughter.
She told how NHSGGC had never explained to her how Milly died. Freeman told us: “There is no excuse for Milly’s parents not to have been given the full information at the time when their child died.”
She added: “I don’t believe people are wilfully intending to cause more pain and upset to others but their actions, or their failure to act, clearly in this instance, absolutely do.”
Although NHSGGC has admitted Milly contracted a water infection, they said there’s no way of knowing whether it came from the hospital.
Freeman said the board is “technically” correct but added: “That’s not really helpful to Milly’s mum, and it is reasonable that, knowing what she knows now, that she would suspect that it came from the water in the hospital.”
Asked whether she suspected Milly’s infection had come from the QEUH, Freeman said: “I don’t know, but given what we know about levels of water-borne infections in and around the period that I know of, which is 2018 … then I think it is a reasonable position to take that it could have come from the hospital.” Freeman also wants the board to provide the findings of the doctor-led probe, which she was never given: “First of all, why did we not know? Secondly, what does it say? Give us it. Let’s see that information in full. And thirdly, what did you do when you got that information?”
On NHSGGC appearing to criticise the whistleblower, Freeman said: “I thought that was appalling. That’s why in the statement I made today in Parliament I said whistleblowers should not be publicly or privately criticised.”
She explained: “I think the board have moved away from that position in recent days but nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that what they initially said in their comments is the least bit acceptable, because it is not.”
Responding to calls for her to resign, Freeman said: “I don’t think whether or not I resign really matters. I think what matters is whether or not I do my job. My job is to make sure that those parents get the truth they deserve.”
Addressing MSPs, the Health Secretary offered her “deepest sympathies” to the families affected by the water scandal, adding: “I also want to apologise to them that they feel they have not had their questions answered.”
Labour MSP Anas Sarwar, who was contacted by the whistleblower, said: “It is welcome that Jeane has recognised the appalling and disgraceful way that the health board has handled this. But it’s not just a change in attitude that’s required – the health board needs to start providing answers and end the cover-up.”