The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has been examining the design and construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children, which are on the same campus.
It was launched in the wake of deaths linked to infections, including 10-year-old Milly Main, who was being treated for leukaemia.
The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
In closing submissions to the inquiry published ahead of final oral hearings, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said it accepts that it is “more likely than not that a material proportion of the additional environmentally relevant blood stream infections (BSI) in the paediatric haemato-oncology population between 2016 and 2018 had a connection to the state of the hospital water system”.
It added: “NHSGGC accepts that, on the balance of probabilities, there is a causal connection between some infections suffered by patients and the hospital environment, in particular the water system.
“NHSGGC departs from its earlier submissions in this regard, having heard all expert evidence.”
The U-turn was hailed as a “turning point” by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who called for a corporate homicide investigation to be expanded to include politicians who he accused of a “cover-up”.
Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, he vowed to establish Milly’s Law which he said “would create an independent public advocate with the authority to investigate incidents and establish the truth”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. (Image: PA Video)
Mr Sarwar said: “For years, families have been forced to fight for the truth about what happened to their children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Whistleblowers were gaslit, lied to and punished for telling the truth.
“They have been ignored, dismissed, patronised, and made to feel like they were ‘making a fuss’; attacked and victimised by NHS managers paid for by taxpayer money, they have lost jobs, and seen their personal lives targeted by institutions more interested in covering up their failures than the truth.
“Every step of the way they have been supported by SNP ministers, who never stopped lying to hide the truth of their failure.
“The SNP and the board did not put patient safety and families first.
“Instead, they – led by John Swinney – closed ranks.
“The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life.
“Since the hospital opened, there has been a litany of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures, and infections that devastated families.
“NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been named as a suspect in a corporate homicide investigation relating to the deaths of patients including 10-year-old Milly Main.
Sarwar criticised John Swinney. (Image: Scottish Parliament TV)
“In my opinion, so should the SNP ministers responsible for the cover up, because this is a serious criminal matter.
“This latest admission by NHSGGC should be a turning point.
“It should be the beginning of the end for the SNP’s secret Scotland.
“Families deserve answers. They deserve accountability. And they deserve justice.
“The question now is simple.
“Will John Swinney finally take responsibility for the criminal failures of his government, of NHSGCC and the conspiracy to lie to parents, patients, and Scotland.
“The families have waited long enough. Now it’s time for Scotland to do the right thing.”
The SNP has been contacted for comment.
Read more:
Scottish Conservative health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “QEUH has been at the centre of several infection-related scandals from its very beginning.
“There is now a substantial body of evidence that points to a cover-up at the very top, which has only been exposed by this inquiry.
“Families like those of Milly Main, Molly Cuddihy and many others have waited years to get straight answers from those responsible.
“Those are now being extracted rather than freely given.
“That long and expensive process only became necessary because of a culture of secrecy.
“Since 2017, a succession of Scottish Government health ministers refused to intervene.
He added: “They have all managed to escape any real repercussions for their lack of interest in a life-threatening situation, meanwhile a similarly long list of senior executives have parted ways with the board.
“Members of the public will want to know why the SNP always seem to help senior management escape scrutiny.”
A spokesperson for NHSGGC said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the Inquiry in its investigations.”
