Swinney accused of 'insulting the intelligence' of hospital scandal families

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said “clear political pressure” was applied to open the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus before it was ready.

He said the First Minister was “denying reality” by insisting this was not the case, and exacerbating the pain of those affected. Mr Swinney accused him of “desperation”.

The hospital complex has been the subject of a long-running inquiry due to patient deaths and infections linked to contaminated water and ventilation systems.

READ MORE: Bereaved mother accuses ministers of adding to pain over scandal-hit hospital revelation

Mr Sarwar previously highlighted an official meeting note which stated “political pressure” was being felt over the opening of the flagship facility.

Last month, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said pressure had been applied for the hospital to open on time, but it was “not ready”. It later said this pressure “came from within”.

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Mr Sarwar pointed to a speech Mr Swinney made at an SNP conference on March 29, 2015, shortly before the hospital opened and just weeks before an election.

In this, Mr Swinney boasted the hospital was “on time and on budget”, adding: “Conference, with the SNP government, ‘on time and on budget’ is the rule not the exception.”

Mr Sarwar said: “Families are hurting enough, so why is John Swinney insulting their intelligence and exacerbating their pain?”

He added: “Let’s look at what the families are having to hear and endure. Not just the pain of losing a loved one, but that politics was put before patient safety and pressure was applied to open the hospital.

“That the hospital opened before it was safe and ready, that a report that warned of the risks of infections but it was ignored, that the Scottish Government received 14 alerts of infections but it didn’t take the appropriate action.”

Mr Sarwar also pointed to claims that Fiona McQueen, chief nursing officer at the time of infections, “attempted to bribe grieving families with cash and a trip to Disneyland, rather than confront the truth”.

He said families are “going through this hell” because of the SNP government’s decisions.

Responding, Mr Swinney said ministers had established an independent public inquiry, and would not interfere with it. He said the government first became aware of issues in relation to water contamination in 2018.

The First Minister said his conference speech was made in front of thousands of people, adding: “I don’t quite understand the sensational point that Mr Sarwar is trying to put forward. It smacks of desperation in the arguments that Mr Sarwar is putting forward.

“We’ve established an independent public inquiry which we will leave to make its judgments about this whole issue, so that the families involved can get the truth, which is what they deserve to get.”

Mr Swinney stressed the safety of the QEUH, and added: “My advice to Mr Sarwar in his absolute desperation, is to stop playing politics with this issue, respect the independent inquiry, as this government will do, and allow the families to get to the truth of what has happened.”