MSPs call on Scottish Government to publish communications connected to hospital

MSPs have voted on a motion for the Scottish Government to publish all communications connected to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH).

The motion was tabled by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and calls on the Scottish Government to authorise the immediate full disclosure and preservation of all communications connected to the contaminated water and inadequate ventilation system and the premature opening of the hospital.

The chamber voted 64 yes and 56 no with no abstentions to the motion.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which heard closing submissions last week, examined the design and construction of the QEUH and the Royal Hospital for Children, which are on the same campus in Glasgow.

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

Mr Sarwar has been calling for inquiry chairman Lord Brodie to consider the actions of the Scottish Government in the commissioning, construction and opening of the QEUH.

The vote comes as Scotland’s Health Secretary Neil Gray said attempts to force the inquiry to take more evidence would be against the law.

The local health board admitted in its closing statement to the inquiry there could be a link between the building’s environment and infections which led to deaths, including that of Milly Main.

Speaking in Holyrood during a debate on the motion on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar pushed for current and former ministers involved in the building of the hospital to be questioned by the inquiry.

“Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Shona Robison have not given testimony at the inquiry and have not been cross-examined,” he said.

“Without that, we will never have the full picture of what happened, and there’s a further risk if political decision making is not examined, ministers will attempt to use the final report of the inquiry as proof that the problems were contained entirely within the health board and could not have been prevented by government intervention.

“That claim cannot be allowed to stand without proper scrutiny.”

Responding to the calls, Mr Gray – who eventually assured MSPs the hospital is currently safe at the third time of asking – said he understood the push from Mr Sarwar on the issue.

“When something goes badly wrong in a project of this scale and significance, it is entirely reasonable to want every possible line of responsibility examined,” he said.

“However, while I recognise the concern that underpins the motion, I cannot support it because it would be incompatible with the legal framework that governs this inquiry.

“All statutory public inquiries in Scotland operate under the Inquiries Act, which was passed by this Parliament.

“That Act exists to protect the independence, integrity and credibility of inquiries.

“It gives inquiry chairs powerful legal tools, the power to compel witnesses, to require the production of documents, to take evidence on oath and to determine what evidence is relevant to their terms of reference.

“Those powers are not held by ministers, they are held by the independent inquiry chair, any member seeking to support the motion is attempting to influence the action of the chair, is calling for the government to act in a manner incompatible with that legislation which, of course, we cannot do.”

Mr Sarwar’s motion also calls for the release of documents held by the government in relation to the opening of the hospital.

The Health Secretary committed to providing any more information requested by Lord Brodie, but did not say if the information would be published regardless of a request from the inquiry.

After the vote, Mr Sarwar said: “The Scottish Parliament has spoken and the SNP Government needs to listen.

“For too long grieving families and brave whistleblowers have been lied to, bullied and forced to fight for the truth while powerful institutions closed ranks.

“The SNP’s culture of secrecy and cover-up needs to come to an end.

“People have died and their families deserve the truth.

“We need to know what exactly the SNP Government knew and when, what action they took and what decisions they signed off on.

“The SNP Government must immediately start work to release all communications on this scandal and they must come clean on whether any documents have been destroyed already.”