{"id":387539,"date":"2026-01-24T07:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T07:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/387539\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T07:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T07:07:08","slug":"nicola-sturgeon-issues-statement-on-glasgow-infections-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/387539\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicola Sturgeon issues statement on Glasgow infections row"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died after contracting an infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH)<\/a> urged the former first minister to \u201ccome forward and be honest\u201d about what she knew ahead of the facility opening.\n<\/p>\n

\n Milly Main died in 2017 after contracting an infection at the Royal Hospital for Children\u2019s cancer ward on the campus of the QEUH in Glasgow.\n<\/p>\n

\n The hospital has been subject to examination by the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, with the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board admitting last week it was likely the environment at the hospital had led to infections.\n<\/p>\n

\n READ MORE: Donald Trump should apologise for ‘appalling’ comments on Afghanistan, says Starmer<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde<\/a>\u2019s (NHSGGC) closing submission to the inquiry also said \u201cpressure\u201d was applied to ensure the facility was opened on time in 2015.\n<\/p>\n

\n The hospital was commissioned while Sturgeon was health secretary and opened when she was first minister, leading opposition politicians to ask the former SNP<\/a> leader to make a statement to Holyrood<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Milly\u2019s mother Kimberley Darroch spoke at a press conference alongside Scottish Labour<\/a> leader Anas Sarwar<\/a> earlier on Friday.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cWe don\u2019t actually know who applied pressure, it\u2019s really not for me to say.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI do believe Nicola Sturgeon<\/a> knows something, my message to her is to come forward and be honest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n She welcomed the change in stance from the health board, which said in its closing statement the environment at the hospital likely contributed to infections.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHowever, given the evidence we have heard throughout this inquiry and subsequent closing submissions heard this week, I feel strongly that this is the position GGC should have taken six years ago,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe are closer to the truth today than we were six years ago, nevertheless I feel as though we only know half the story.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n She added: \u201cAll I\u2019ve ever asked for is the truth, the truth of what went so catastrophically wrong and why at Glasgow\u2019s super-hospital.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis journey has been utterly heartbreaking for myself and Milly\u2019s family, the only thing I can be sure of today is that Milly does not want me to give up until the truth is uncovered.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Darroch went on to urge bosses at the health board to \u201cadmit where, when and why it went wrong\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n She added: \u201cWe need to prevent this from ever happening again.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Nicola Sturgeon (Image: JEFF J MITCHELL)\n<\/p>\n

\n Sturgeon issued a statement on Friday evening, saying: \u201cI understand Ms Darroch\u2019s determination to get answers, and my thoughts are very much with her and others affected by the situation at QEUH.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI hope the inquiry report, when published, will offer those affected the answers they want and deserve.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAny suggestion that I applied pressure for the hospital to open before it was ready or that I had any knowledge of safety concerns at that time are completely untrue.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe families who lost loved ones in the QEUH have a right to have their questions answered.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat is why the independent public inquiry was established while I was first minister.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe inquiry has had sight of all relevant material and has also been able to take evidence from any individual with insight or information it thought necessary for its work.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Speaking at the press conference, Sarwar paid tribute to the families who have spoken out, as well as the three doctors who blew the whistle on issues at the hospital \u2013 Dr Teresa Inkster, Dr Penelope Redding and Dr Christine Peters.\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey are three amazing, inspiring, strong women that were willing to risk their jobs, willing to risk their professional reputations, and willing to take on the might of an organisation that attempted to bully and silence them,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI actually think the nation owes you a huge thank you and I hope you get the recognition and reward you deserve for the bravery you have shown.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Sarwar added that if the three whistleblowers were \u201cnot satisfied\u201d with the management of the hospital, \u201cthen neither am I and neither should anybody across our great country\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay<\/a> has also been questioning the Scottish Government<\/a> on the \u201cpressure\u201d brought to the NHS health board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died after contracting an infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-387539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}