Nicola Sturgeon has been challenged over the culture of “secrecy and denial” at Glasgow’s flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) after the widow of a senior Scottish Government official who died there branded it a “serious risk to vulnerable patients”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Andrew Milligan
The First Minister said officials from the Scottish Government had already been in touch with bosses at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde after Louise Slorance claimed staff there “never mentioned” her husband Andrew, 49, had contracted an infection linked to mould.
Mr Slorance, a father of five and the head of the Scottish Government’s response and communication unit, was being treated for cancer at QEUH last year when he tested positive for coronavirus.
However, Mrs Slorance, 45, said she only discovered he also had aspergillus – a fungal infection caused by a type of mould – when she went through his medical notes.
She told the Daily Record newspaper that “the hospital remains a serious risk to vulnerable patients like Andrew”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar meanwhile hit out at the “culture of cover-up, secrecy and denial” at the Glasgow hospital, branding this “the worst scandal of the devolution era”.
Ms Sturgeon paid tribute to Mr Slorance, who died in December 2020, describing him as a “greatly valued member of the Scottish Government team” who she said was “greatly missed by everyone who had the privilege of working with him, and that includes me”.
She told MSPs her officials had already contacted NHS chiefs in Greater Glasgow and Clyde “so that the concerns that have been raised are properly investigated”.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, she pledged: “We will do everything possible to ensure that Andrew’s family get the answers that they are seeking and also consider very carefully whether the concerns that have been raised by Louise Slorance raise wider issues that require to be addressed.”
Ms Sturgeon was also clear: “I will not and this government will not tolerate cover-ups or secrecy on the part of any health board and where there are concerns about that we will address those concerns.”
She pointed out a public inquiry is currently examining issues at the QEUH, describing that as a sign of the government’s “determination to ensure any issues raised are properly investigated and the answers are forthcoming”.
Louise Slorance, with her husband Andrew and three of their children. Nicola Sturgeon has been challenged over the culture of "secrecy and denial" at Glasgow's flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after the widow of a senior Scottish Government official who died there branded it a "serious risk to vulnerable patients".
Louise Slorance
She stated: “I am determined, and the government is determined, that will be the case in relation to Andrew’s death as well.”
Mr Sarwar said that while the civil servant had gone into the hospital “to get treatment that would prolong his life” he had instead contracted both Covid and aspergillus.
He added: “His wife Louise told me she was never informed about the fungal infection and she had to uncover it in his medical notes after his death.
“She has courageously spoken of her anger, her shock, her distress and her disappointment.”
The Labour leader continued: “Why, despite everything that has happened, do we still have a culture of cover-up, secrecy and denial with families being forced to take on the system to get the truth?”
Humza Yousaf MSP Health Secretary.
Fraser Bremner/Daily Mail
Speaking about the hospital, he insisted: “This is the worst scandal of the devolution era and in any other country in the world there would be resignations and sackings, but under this government it is denial and cover-up.”
Ms Sturgeon told him however it would be “wrong” for her to pre-empt the findings of the public inquiry.
She stated: “These are serious issues, I think they deserve to be treated seriously. The public inquiry is doing that work right now.”
Later at First Minister’s Questions, Labour’s Paul O’Kane raised the case of Theresa Smith from Greenock, whose 12-day-old baby daughter Sophia died at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after contracting an infection in 2017.
Mr O’Kane said the family had to fight for a post-mortem to establish the truth of what happened.
He added: “Theresa and her family have described the torturous journey to try and get answers on what happened, with phone calls, emails and letters stonewalled.
“And she too has pointed to a cover-up.”
The First Minister expressed her sympathies to Sophia’s family as she said: “Infection prevention control is a priority within every hospital all of the time and that is absolutely right and proper.
“So is the need to learn lessons for when things go wrong, and that is a daily priority of health boards and hospitals across the country.”
