Health board denials ‘severely impacted’ work of hospitals inquiry, counsel says

A health board’s delayed acceptance of infection problems with the flagship hospital in Glasgow has “severely impacted” the work of the inquiry investigating the issue, its senior counsel has said.

Fred Mackintosh KC said the initial denials from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had made the task of the inquiry more difficult.

He also said senior managers had shown a “wilful blindness” to issues with the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) building.

The inquiry has been examining the design and construction of the QEUH and the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), which are on the same campus.

It was launched in 2020 in the wake of deaths linked to infections, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main in 2017.

Totals costs for the inquiry have reached more than £31 million.

In written closing submissions, the health board accepted there was probably a “causal connection” between infections suffered by patients and the hospital environment, in particular the water system.

NHSGGC has offered a “sincere and unreserved apology” to the patients and families affected, and said the QEUH and RHC are safe today.

It also admitted three whistleblowers were not treated “as they ought to have been” and “the process had a significant impact on their wellbeing”.

During the final day of the inquiry’s evidence on Friday, Mr Mackintosh said the inquiry team’s task had been made “more difficult” as “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have long insisted that there is no evidence to back up the concerns over patient safety at the Queen Elizabeth that caused the inquiry to be established”.

He continued: “Much of the work of the inquiry team has been spent attempting to work out whether there was a link between patient infections and identified, unsafe features of the water and ventilation system.”

The health board has now reached a “delayed acceptance” in relation to paediatric infections likely being linked to the water system, he said.

Mr Mackintosh told inquiry chairman Lord Brodie: “That concession substantially reflects what the case notes review concluded in March 2021.

“There needs to be some acknowledgement that how the health board approached this issue has severely impacted on the work of the inquiry.”

The inquiry’s senior counsel went on to say that managers at the health board had failed to ask questions about the hospital building and had instead showed a “wilful blindness”.

Following closing submissions on Thursday, NHSGGC released a statement saying: “We offer our sincere and unreserved apology to the patients and families affected.

“We want to reassure patients and families that the QEUH and RHC are safe today. Ensuring the safe care of our patients is our key priority at all times.

“Comprehensive steps have been taken to address past physical defects in the building and a significant and ongoing programme of maintenance and monitoring is in place. Our staff are committed to providing safe, high-quality care.

“In our closing statements we have acknowledged issues with past culture and communication, and we are committed to learn and continue to improve our approach.

“We have outlined the significant improvements undertaken as an organisation during this time to improve governance and oversight, and that issues are being addressed both proactively and reactively, and in a timely manner.”

It continued: “It would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time while the inquiry is ongoing.”

On Thursday, a joint statement from families affected by hospital infections said flaws in the building’s environment had “killed and poisoned our loved ones”.

It said: “We trusted the hospital and the health board.

“Instead, we were left at the mercy of a hospital with a defective ventilation system and a defective water system.

“We were at the mercy of what we now know to be a deceitful and dishonest health board.

“We have been devastated. Some of our loved ones have died. Some are left with very serious lifelong consequences.”

The group called on politicians to act and said the building remains unsafe.