Health board says there is a probable link between patient infections and hospital water system
A public inquiry has been hearing evidence.
Last updated 18th Jan 2026
A health board has admitted there was likely a "casual connection" between patient infections and one of their hospital's water systems.
The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has examined the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children. It followed deaths linked to infections on the hospital campus, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main, who died in 2017.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has said in closing submissions to the inquiry that it has been "broadly acknowledged that there is no definite link between infections and the water system."
However it said it accepts it is "more likely than not that a material proportion of the additional environmentally relevant blood stream infections (BSI) in the paediatric haemato-oncology population between 2016 and 2018 had a connection to the state of the hospital water system".
"Attacked and victimised"
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has now demanded senior officials are held accountable, including SNP ministers.
He said: "For years, families have been forced to fight for the truth about what happened to their children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
“Whistleblowers were gaslit, lied to and punished for telling the truth. They have been ignored, dismissed, patronised, and made to feel like they were ‘making a fuss’.
“They have been attacked and victimised by NHS managers paid for by taxpayer money, they have lost jobs, and seen their personal lives targeted by institutions more interested in covering up their failures than the truth.
“Every step of the way they have been supported by SNP ministers, who never stopped lying to hide the truth of their failure.
"The SNP and the board did not put patient safety and families first. Instead, they - led by John Swinney - closed ranks.
"Criminal failures"
“The QEUH scandal is one of the worst failures in modern Scottish public life. Since the hospital opened, there has been a litany of serious problems: concerns about water safety, environmental risks, governance failures, and infections that devastated families.
“NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been named as a suspect in a corporate homicide investigation relating to the deaths of patients including ten-year-old Milly Main. In my opinion, so should the SNP ministers responsible for the cover up, because this is a serious criminal matter."
“The question now is simple - Will John Swinney finally take responsibility for the criminal failures of his government, of NHSGCC and the conspiracy to lie to parents, patients, and Scotland?"
“The families have waited long enough. Now it’s time for Scotland to do the right thing.”
"Gaslit, lied to, and punished for telling the truth"
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We established a statutory public inquiry so that families could get answers to their questions, and so that lessons can be learned for future hospital projects.
"As an independent core participant of the Inquiry, the Scottish Government is committed to assisting the Inquiry and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time."
The inquiry will begin hearing final submissions on the 20th of January.