Early Warnings on Superhospital Infections Overlooked
The Scottish government received notifications about 14 serious infection outbreaks at the £1 billion Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in the three years following its 2015 opening, yet officials took no action on these critical alerts. These red and amber health warnings, issued by health board leaders between 2015 and 2018, highlighted risks to vulnerable patients, including dying children and adults at the QEUH campus.
Health Secretary Shona Robison at the time would have been legally required to receive these notifications through her department, but no investigations followed. This development intensifies scrutiny on First Minister John Swinney, who maintains that the government first learned of infection problems at the hospital in March 2018—nearly three years after the initial alert.
Pressure Mounts on SNP Leadership
The timing of these alerts contradicts recent claims amid accusations that Swinney misled the Scottish Parliament by denying political pressure to open the QEUH prematurely. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar stated that the evidence of 14 Healthcare Infection Incident Assessment Tool (HIIAT) alerts between 2015 and 2018, many involving immunocompromised patients, disproves the March 2018 awareness claim.
Sarwar emphasized: ‘These warnings exist precisely because lives are at risk.’ He further noted that the government’s failure to act demonstrates a pattern of denial and deception toward patients and families.
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and ex-Health Secretary Shona Robison face calls to clarify their knowledge of the QEUH infections. Swinney has repeatedly denied any rush to open the facility.
Details of Infection Outbreaks
Recent admissions by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) confirm a probable link between contaminated water and infections in some child cancer patients, though the health board disputes connections to the hospital’s ventilation system or incidents outside 2016-2018.
NHSGGC faces a corporate homicide investigation into four patient deaths at QEUH and the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), including 10-year-old Milly Main, 73-year-old Gail Armstrong, and two other children. Police are also examining the deaths of Andrew Slorance, 49, Tony Dynes, 63, and Molly Cuddihy, 23.
Independent experts reviewed 84 children’s infections, with about one-third potentially tied to the hospital environment—a link the health board rejects.
Under Scotland’s infection control protocols, all healthcare incidents must be logged via HIIAT, with red and amber cases escalated to the government’s health department for oversight. Before March 2018, at least 14 such alerts occurred, including probes into water and ventilation sources.
Timeline of Key Incidents
In October 2015, two red alerts emerged: one for Serratia marcescens affecting 13 babies in the pediatric intensive care unit, prompting ventilation and sink checks, enhanced chlorine cleaning, and closure considerations; another for a bloodborne virus at QEUH.
2016 saw three amber alerts at RHC and one at QEUH, including aspergillus mold in two cancer ward children, where ventilation issues were flagged. A November Serratia outbreak impacted three intensive care babies.
In 2017, three red alerts at RHC and one at QEUH, plus two amber alerts, included a March fungal infection spike on the child cancer ward and a July Stenotrophomonas maltophilia case in the same unit. One victim was 10-year-old Milly Main from Lanark, in leukemia remission, who died from the infection.
A March 3, 2018, red alert followed Cupriavidus and pseudomonas infections in two children. Meeting notes revealed prior water tests detected Cupriavidus in 2016, while recent sink and shower tests showed pseudomonas.
Sturgeon served as First Minister and Robison as Health Secretary from 2014 to June 2018, spanning the hospital’s opening and the claimed discovery period. Robison, now Deputy First Minister, reversed a pre-opening infection audit pledge in April 2015.
Former Health Secretary Alex Neil indicated that HIIAT reports were shared based on severity, adding: ‘There’s a need for Lord Brodie to put the relevant ministers and special advisors from 2015 on the stand under oath to establish what they knew.’ He warned of potential negligence or conspiracy leading to avoidable deaths.
The Scottish Government has not addressed whether Robison received the alerts, who else was informed, or what steps followed.
