In his regular column for the Record, the Scottish Labour leader vows to continue his campaign for justice for Milly Main’s family.
Anas Sarwar with Kimberley Darroch(Image: Getty Images)
This week marks a decade since the opening of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. There is no doubt that so many amazing lifesaving treatments have been performed by exceptional NHS staff over that decade, but all has not been well.
Soon after opening, it became clear that the hospital had major issues that needed to be addressed, with people being put at risk. Whistleblowers raised concerns over a breakdown in communications, issues related to the water supply and risks posed by potential hospital-acquired infections.
In response, the health board and Scottish Government flatly denied that there were any issues. Gradually a scandal of enormous and deadly significance was uncovered.
The uncovering of this scandal was down to the intrepid journalism of this newspaper, but also the result of the testimony of brave families seeking answers and of NHS staff who were not willing to stand by and do nothing.
I first became aware of serious issues when I was contacted by whistleblowers working at the QEUH.
They described to me in great detail the issues with the water supply, the scale of infections in immunocompromised children and that there had been tragically at least two deaths of children as a result. These issues had been raised with the board leadership who rather than take action chose to deny it, bully the staff and cover it up instead.
Most shockingly of all they told me that the parents of the two children that had lost their lives had not been told the true cause of their deaths. That shook me to my core. Imagine that was me or one of my loved ones.
This couldn’t be allowed to happen. I had to do something. One of those children was ten year old Milly Main, a young girl full of charm and light, who was in remission and looking forward to getting home when she acquired a deadly infection and died in the QEUH.
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Milly’s mum Kimberley Darroch, one of the most inspiring people I have ever met in my life, read that I had raised the scandal at First Minister’s Questions. She believed that one of those children may be Milly.
Kimberley contacted me and from that day in 2017 it has been my honour to stand with her and her family in their fight for justice. And what we uncovered is nothing short of the biggest scandal in the history of devolution.
In the face of cover up and denial from the health board and disinterest from the SNP government, Milly’s family and other campaigners have fought tirelessly for justice. And what has been revealed?
Serious mistakes and oversights that led to the opening of the hospital despite reports clearly stating infection of the hospital’s water supply – with deadly bugs detected in the water system and cryptococcus from pigeon droppings.
Concerns were raised by staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital(Image: Getty Images)
This led to serious infection outbreaks and played a role in the death not only of Milly but of several other patients. And as the health board fought against transparency, the full details of their failure became apparent.
Serious warnings were missed or ignored. Senior clinicians who raised the alarm were subject to bullying. And the concerns of families and patients were ignored to save the health board’s leadership blushes. This is scandalous.
But while these families fought tenaciously for justice, they were also failed by an SNP government that at first denied any issues at the hospital and going on to defend the health board leaders at every turn.
The health board is now the subject of a corporate homicide investigation. The first time in Scottish history. We can never again allow patients and victims to be ignored and dismissed by an out of touch bureaucracy and a government that is indulging in cover-up.
That’s why – as First Minister – I will introduce Milly’s Law to put power into the hands of families. Our plans would fundamentally re-balance the power between families and the powers that be.
And our plans would create an independent public advocate with the authority to investigate incidents to establish the truth. We owe it to Milly all the families impacted to deliver justice.
Greedy touts are ripping off music fans
This summer, thousands of music fans will have been making the most of the good weather watching their favourite artists at festivals such as TRNSMT and Glastonbury.
And in just a few weeks’, Oasis will be taking to the stage at Murrayfield in Edinburgh as they embark on their long-awaited comeback tour.
But, while these events are the highlight of the summer for many, unfortunately greedy ticket touts are snapping up tickets and flogging them for extortionate amounts.
We saw this earlier this month when tickets for Lewis Capaldi’s upcoming tour went on sale and were quickly being sold on for more than £400.
This is unacceptable, and it is why the UK Labour Government is taking action on this issue by clamping down on ruthless touts gaming the system.
The UK Labour government has set out plans to cap resale prices and ban ticket hoarding – actions that will benefit not only music fans, but sports fans, here in Scotland.
This will ensure that Scots are not left out of pocket by unscrupulous ticket sellers and are not priced out of big events that they can enjoy with their friends and family. A UK Labour government putting Scottish concertgoers first.
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