Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2026 [Draft]
I follow others in acknowledging the sudden passing of Jeane Freeman and offer our condolences to Susan, the wider family and SNP colleagues, who I know keenly feel her loss.
I open by paying tribute to the patients, families and staff who have campaigned for years, often at great personal cost, to bring the issues at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital to light. We would not be having the debate without them. I whole-heartedly pledge my party’s support to getting the truth for families, and we will do everything that we can to hold those who are responsible to account. To lose a loved one in the place where they are meant to be safe is unimaginable. To then be lied to about what happened to them is disgraceful. Patients and families have been betrayed and staff have been silenced—that must never happen again.
I welcome the debate because it is important that we continue to scrutinise the Government’s response to the issues at the Queen Elizabeth university hospital, and it is an important function of the Parliament. We will support the Labour motion because, although we have been reassured that the hospital is safe, it is an on-going concern that the cabinet secretary has not been able to assure us of a full validation at the hospital.
We talk about restoring patient trust—a validation would be a necessary and vital step towards achieving that, because people deserve to know what is happening. However, I have some concerns about how we move forward, get answers for patients and crucially rebuild confidence in the services that are essential for so many. We should question the Government and apply pressure where it is needed without causing additional alarm. The last thing that we want to do is put people off from attending potentially life-saving treatment.
In the motion, Jackie Baillie acknowledges that
“thousands of patients are treated safely and expertly cared for by NHS staff in the hospital every year”,
which is hugely important, but some parts of the motion could cause further anxiety and fear. I say that gently, not to undermine the important issues that the motion raises but to highlight that there are two important tasks at the heart of this: getting answers for families and rebuilding trust. The motion references “at-risk patients”, which potentially undermines the work that has been done to reassure patients and staff.
In the previous debate that we held on the topic, my amendment, which all parties voted for, said that the Parliament
“acknowledges that recent revelations surrounding the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital will have been distressing for patients, their families and staff”
and
“understands that this could create uncertainty and fear regarding the safety of Scotland’s hospitals and negatively impact staff morale”.
We will always seek to hold the Government to account and get those answers, and like everyone in this chamber, I am on the side of patients, families and staff and want to see them get the truth because they deserve it. I will vote for the motion because I, like others, want as much scrutiny as possible, but we need to reflect on how we can provide that scrutiny without creating more anxiety than has already been created.
Ultimately, however, it is the Scottish Government’s responsibility to reassure people. The Government and the health board must be fully transparent. That means, as well as co-operating fully with the inquiry, publishing any additional documents and communications that are requested, whenever the request is reasonable.
The Government has a tough hill to climb before it earns back the trust of patients, families and staff. I welcome the establishment of the safety and public confidence oversight group, which will play an important role in rebuilding relationships. Previously, I asked the cabinet secretary whether there would be patient and staff representatives on the group, so I would be grateful if he could clarify in his closing speech whether that will be the case.
It is vital that we rebuild trust and confidence in Scotland’s hospitals. That must be led by the cabinet secretary and the Scottish Government, but, as MSPs, we also have an important role to play.