John Swinney, Scotland's Health Secretary, is facing criticism after declaring a cancer ward for high-risk patients at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) to be safe, even as a new report revealed significant issues including "widespread" water ingress and fungal infections among patients.
The adult bone marrow transplant unit at the QEUH also experienced faulty ventilation, according to the report. An incident management team was established by the city's health board on February 25, following two confirmed cases and a potential third fungal infection, with suspected links to the building's environment, particularly water leaks and contamination.
Scottish Government received an "hospital infection" alert on February 26, which was escalated to red on March 5, the same day Swinney addressed the Scottish Parliament. He informed lawmakers at the time, "I consider the hospital, and its component parts, to be safe."
Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs criticized Swinney's assurances, stating, "John Swinney has repeatedly given false assurances about safety at the SNP’s flagship hospital, while patients and staff face unacceptable risks." Briggs further commented that the QEUH, which he claims was "rushed to open long before it was ready, for electoral reasons," remains unfit for purpose years later.
Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie added that the conflicting statements contribute to a perception of "secrecy and cover-up" by the government and health board, potentially endangering the public.
A paper discussed by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde's board indicated no "ongoing clinical concern relating to fungal infection," and that all affected patients had been discharged and were "clinically improving." However, inspectors identified "widespread historic and active water ingress, ventilation compromise and reservoir risks," leading to the closure of multiple rooms, extensive remediation efforts, and a program of repairs and testing.
The QEUH, a
£1 billion facility, was previously the subject of a public inquiry after two children died and at least 84 patients became ill from infections shortly after its 2015 opening. Despite not being fully ready, patients were admitted 10 days before a general election, following Swinney's promise that the campus would open "on time and on budget."
Among the affected patients were Milly Main, 10, who contracted a bacterial infection while undergoing leukemia treatment in 2017, and Andrew Slorance, who died in 2020 from a fungal infection caught during cancer treatment. Slorance had been part of the Scottish cabinet that approved the QEUH's development.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had initially denied a link between the building and infection spikes but later admitted to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry that infections were likely connected to bugs in the water system. Louise Slorance, Andrew Slorance's widow, told The Times that the health board had denied water ingress issues when the latest problems emerged, stating, "Only now, months later and buried in a board paper comes the admission that widespread water ingress was found - this is history repeating itself."
A Scottish Government spokesman reiterated Swinney's position, stating, "Where issues are identified openly and transparently, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is addressing those issues and will be required by the Government to do exactly that."